Reduced orchestration available: 1.1.1.1/1.1.1.0/2perc/str

  • 2+pic.2.2.2/4.3.2+btbn.1/3perc/str
  • 1.1.1.1/1.1.1.0/2perc/str (minimum 3.3.3.2.1 players)
  • 9 min 30 s
    • 17th October 2024, Västerås Konserthus, Västerås, Sweden
    • 19th October 2024, Västerås Konserthus, Västerås, Sweden
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Programme Note

First performances:
small orchestra version
   June 18, 2011
   League of Composers Orchestra ISCM
   Louis Karchin, conductor
   Brooklyn, NY
large orchestra version
   November 19, 2011
   Albany Symphony
   David Alan Miller, conductor
   Albany, NY

Composer note:

Violent, Violent Sea was commissioned by the Barlow Endowment and the League of Composers Chamber Orchestra, and was premiered at Miller Theater in New York City in June 2011.

This work began with more of an emotional impression than a precise musical idea. My early notes for the piece look something like this:

LOUD BUT SLOW. LIGHT BUT DARK. VIBRAPHONE. HOW TO DO THIS?

To my relief I eventually did figure out "how to do this." The work evolved significantly from these early sketches but my idea of creating a loud, dense work with conflicting light and dark sides remained
intact. The result is a ten-minute piece with a deceptively sparkling exterior and dark, slow-moving chords at its core. These chords grind against each other, dissolve into glissandos and crescendo into surprising dissonances under the glistening patina of vibraphone and marimba. This work is dedicated to Sheila Mazzoli, who loves the sea more than anyone.

— Missy Mazzoli



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