Ryan Lindveit Bass Clarinet
PERUSALSCORE
BASS CLARINET CONCERTO
I. Entering the Mind of the Forest
II. Racing Through the Forest of the Mind
III. Branching Brain
Instrumentation
Piccolo
Flute/Alto Flute
Oboe 1
Oboe 2
Clarinet in B-flat 1
Clarinet in B-flat 2
Soprano Saxophone
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Bassoon 1
Bassoon 2
Solo Bass Clarinet
Trumpet in C
Bass Trombone
Piano
Double Bass
Percussion 1 (glockenspiel, crotales, tambourine, bell tree, temple blocks [shared])
Percussion 2 (vibraphone, suspended cymbal, temple blocks [shared], triangle)
Score in C
Duration
The overall duration is approximately 18 minutes. If time is limited, it is permissible to perform just movement three, just movement two, or movements one and three together.
PERUSALSCORE
Program Notes
Bass Clarinet Concerto is inspired by two reciprocal visual fantasies: on the one hand imagining the human mind as a verdant forest, and on the other hand envisioning a forest as a thoughtful brain. These mental comparisons were sparked by the similarity in structure between dendrites the parts of neurons that branch in many directions to form connections and the branching patterns on trees themselves. I first discovered this comparison in the neuroscientist Giorgio Ascoli's book Trees of the Brain, Roots of the Mind.
Movement One, "Entering the Mind of the Forest," is inspired by the inherent wisdom of forests, especially old-growth forests. I also read Richard Powers' stunning novel The Overstory during the composition process and was equally inspired by the emotional states I felt while reading, particularly the chapters about the botanist Patricia Westerford (who is loosely based on the real scientist Suzanne Simard, known for her research on the ways trees communicate with each other to work cooperatively). The bass clarinet soloist soliloquizes a simple melody with timbre trills that gradually awakens the other instruments, which I imagine as both creatures in the forest and ideas in the mind. A partially improvised cadenza connects the end of movement one to the beginning of movement two.
Movement Two, "Racing Through the Forest of the Mind," is about the capricious and distracted nature of human thought constantly going off on tangents yet sometimes also getting stuck in moments of repetitive concentration. The music like the composer struggles and desires to focus and then reflects on the poignancy of not being able to focus. The variety of speeds and textures also reflects the wonderful biodiversity of forests. Musically, this movement is built on a short motif first heard in the piccolo, flute, and soprano saxophone which is drawn out, transposed, and reharmonized extensively throughout the movement.
Movement Three, "Branching Brain," is a process piece built on a repeating cycle of eight chords alternating with simple and compound meters. It was challenging and satisfying to make music that was underpinned by these harmonic and metric pre-compositional constraints yet also served my musical and emotional ambitions. The harmonic-metric cycle grows in intensity and is both interrupted by and synthesized with material from movement one. I imagine a lonely neuron reaching its dendrites out for connection and forming synapses on its way to creating a vivacious and vibrant forest in the mind.
Bass Clarinet Concerto is an 18-minute composition for solo bass clarinet and an ensemble of 18 musicians (piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet, bass trombone, piano, double bass, and 2 percussion). The first performance took place at the University of Michigan with bass clarinet soloist Andrew Koeppe accompanied by the Symphony Band Chamber Winds conducted by Daniel Johnson in January 2024.
PERUSALSCORE
BASS CLARINET CONCERTO
I.Entering the Mind of the Forest
PERUSALSCORE
B.
II. Racing Through the
Forest of the Mind
Oboe
B b Clarinet
B b Clarinet
Soprano
B b Tenor
E b Baritone
Solo B b Bass Clarinet
C Trumpet
Bass Trombone
Double Bass
PERUSALSCORE
