1. Rain, Rain, Go Away

2. Woodland Mist

3. Ice Floes at Twilight

Water in the form of gas is represented by the second movement, Woodland Mist. Scored for solo cor anglais and strings, this movement is a transcription of a very short melodic piece aimed at elementary level piano students from 2023, featuring all twelve notes of the chromatic scale.

Inspired by Claude Monet’s painting from 1893 of the same name and currently located at Museum Langmatt in Switzerland, Ice Floes at Twilight forms the last movement, representing water in its solid form and exploring the interplay between aspects of musical continuity and discontinuity. The slow-moving harmonic progression presented by the piano and strings remains a constant presence throughout, depicting ‘the quiet currents of the Seine’ noted in Herzkammer by the Direktor of Museum Langmatt, Markus Stegmann. Hissing through reversed brass mouthpieces portrays the ice floes of Monet’s work, however the constantly varying dynamic range creates an unstable, unpredictable element which at times disrupts the continuity of the harmonic progression. The greatest aspect of discontinuity occurs from the flute, oboe and clarinet, representing the group of trees in the centre of the painting as the ‘nervously quivering bundle of lines’ only discoverable when viewing the painting more closely.

© Stephen Barchan