Let There Be Sparrows, then for symphony orchestra

Composed for The Sound Ensemble in Seattle and KammarensembleN in Stockholm

Symphony Orchestra version premiered by Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Anna Edwards, conducting.

2022

Program Notes

This piece was written as part of a collaboration between two contemporary music ensembles

in two different countries: The Sound Ensemble in Seattle, USA and KammarensembleN in

Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish composer Marie Samuelson and I each wrote a piece for the

occasion, both pieces to be premiered in the winter of 2022 in Seattle and Stockholm.

I chose as the inspiration for my piece the Passacaglia in d minor by Swedish composer Dietrich

Buxtehude, 1637-1707. The city of his birth, Helsingborg, was originally part of Denmark but

became part of Sweden in 1657. The piece has been the source of variations by other

composers, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach. The Passacaglia theme makes its appearance

several times in Let There Be Sparrows, then; first heard in the vibraphone’s opening statement,

later in the strings and brass. I also used fragments of the contrapuntal voices that occur

through the Passacaglia, including use of repeated octaves and minor seconds. Sparrows

diverges from the Passacaglia in the use of extended techniques, including bent notes in the

vibraphone, indeterminate notes and rhythms at climactic points, and many timbral effects.

Since the piece was composed in the winter for a winter premiere, I also used as inspiration a

poem called At the Solstice by Shaun O’Brien. The title is taken from this poem.