Premiere: Stamps Brass Quintet, SCI Miami Concert, Miami FL, March 18th, 2014

 

Duration:  ca. 15 min

 

Program Note:

 

Confluence is inspired by the behavior and direction of rivers. A confluence is an area when two bodies of water meet and interact. Each of the movements conveys a different level of interaction of the water in specific ways. The first movement, Headstream, conveys the moment when a river is formed and flows from a spring-like source, gradually gaining activity and flowing more consistently. The movement attempts to capture water trickling out from a source and slowly gaining speed and flow until by the end, when the motion continues nonstop as in a babbling stream.

 

The second movement, Tributaries, follows the paths of five different smaller rivers branching off from a central river and the directions they take through varied landscapes. The movement begins with five separate motives played simultaneously. These motives are then presented alone featuring each instrument of the brass quintet, developing as their own independent, characteristic section in succession. The third movement, Estuary, portrays the mixture of the river and the sea. In an estuary, the water is brackish, meaning that it is a mixture of salt and fresh water. Also, juxtaposed tonalities, modalities, and textures suggest a mixture of river and sea and salt and fresh water. In each of these movements, the water goes on a journey, changing its state and connecting with other bodies of water.