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Character Dances
These Character Dances are intended to be small portraits of a few of the people in my life. The set stands as something of a diary of my relationships through the years and how they’ve changed me as well as the others involved. I invite you to play any number of these pieces you want in any order you desire.
- A.S.
- With the sostenuto pedal being held down for each phrase, all of the notes played should be ringing at the end of the phrase, so take the dynamic markings to heart in order for this to be heard. Don’t be afraid to go slow enough so that your fingers don’t get tripped up in measures 9 and 11.
- T.W.
- The left hand only ever plays the notes b and g, so feel free to let it sit down low and out of the way for the right-hand’s melodies. As with the first piece, the sustained notes should create a decaying chord that changes texture as time goes on.
- The Others
- Aleatoricism figured large in the composition of this piece, so timing should be taken freely, however the performer desires. In general, however, events in the separate hands should take place where they occur visually (i.e.: notes in the left hand below notes in the right hand should occur at roughly the same time).
- K.K.
- This piece takes sixteen bars to modulate one half-step. There is not much to be said for its performance, other than trying to make that as clear as possible to the audience.
- J.C.
- As this piece gets higher and faster, it is important to reach a sort of emotional frisson without getting too loud, with the tension resolved in the final three measures.
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