w17705
| Title | Jacob's Ladder |
| Contributors |
Jane Serter (composer) |
| Composition date | 2008 |
| Duration (mins) | 10 |
| Category | chamber quartet woodwind |
| Instrumentation | 4 Cl |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | The dynamics - except for Clarinet 2 - are notated mainly to show the balance between the parts. Clarinets 2 and 3 work together in the first movement, Clarinet 3 in a simple fashion representing the ladder, and Clarinet 2 representing Jacob's attempt to climb up it! Clarinets 1 and 4 roughly represent the sky and the earth, and remain in the background, mirroring each other in an exact palindrome. The sky is eventually reached at bar 71 and quarter tones help to enhance its simple, glittering, nuanced character. In the second movement, Clarinet 3 takes us back down the ladder. Clarinets 2 and 4 work together, breaking off from the downward procession to float up in the ether, with Clarinet 2 decorating the note in a florid, virtuostic manner. Clarinet 1 takes the original note row and treats it with random articulation, at first sparingly, and then gradually filling in each phrase. Clarinet 1 ends the piece with a complete repetition of the original row in two of its modes. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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