| Description |
Three Moods for Woodwind Quintet was originally composed for Horn and String Quartet as Greens/Blues/Reds. The actual act of composition began on July 3, 2005, the date of Gaylord Nelson’s passing. Gaylord Nelson was considered the “Father of Earth Day.” The work began as a celebration of the remarkable beauty and splendor of our green planet. “Joy” introduces the spirit of gratitude and hope. The second movement, “Sorrow”, expresses the remorse, the “blues” felt regarding the passive neglect shown towards our precious environment. “Anger”, the third mood, presents an attitude of rage and desperation. At that time, those who could have helped showed little or no concern for the health of the earth only greed, destructive behavior and/or consequent neglect.
Upon realizing, in 2008, that this piece, with some minor modifications, could work quite well as a woodwind quintet featuring the horn, I decided to change the title simply to Three Moods for Woodwind Quintet. By 2008 concerns for the health and well being of our planet had become a greater priority. Thus, the piece seemed to be less of a concerned statement and more of a sequence of emotions based on the thematic materials presented in “Joy”, the initial movement and most positive mood.
It might even be recommended that, if so desired for programming purposes, after the completion of the third movement, the ensemble returns to “Joy” and performs measures 15 to the coda sign taking the coda to the end. Perhaps such a reprise could be entitled “Hope”. |
