SKU: PR.144407050

UPC: 680160655519. 9 x 12 inches.

Celebrating 30 years, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society commissioned a work of 20-25 minutes for violin and piano from James Primosch, University of Pennsylvania professor of music. Primosch had originally thought to create a new sonata, but what developed is more appropriately a set of five character pieces, two of which were directly inspired by poems. Five Poems was premiered in May, 2016, and Primosch's thoughts are recorded at his website: https://jamesprimosch.com /2016/05/10/five-poems-pr emiere/.
Upon receiving a commission from the Philadelphia Chamber MusicSociety for a violin and piano piece in honor of its 30th anniversary, myplan was to write a sonata, a term suggesting a relatively abstractdiscourse. But as the piece developed, the movements struck me ascharacter pieces rather than music employing a more “symphonic”ap proach. When specific poems started to attach themselves in my mindwith two of the movements, the overall title Five Poems became clear.The title of the second movement is a line from Susan Stewart’s“De scent”, which deals with Aeneas’s visit to the underworld. The musicis alternately fiercely driving and quite still, though tense. RobertFrost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay summons fleet scale passages framinglyrical counterpoint. The remaining movements do not refer to specificpoems, but have titles reflecting their expressive tone. Dreamscape ismusing with an improvisatory violin line over shifting pairs of pianochords. Nightsong is a bluesy lullaby that turns highly dramatic.Vision begins with a closely argued struggle but breaks through tosomething spacious and clear.

SKU: PR.114422690

UPC: 680160684809. 9 x 12 inches.

In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont,
Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists the
gift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided with
studio space, housing, and meals so that we can work continuously on our projects. I have
been in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previous
experiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a
20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 people
living within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for
abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards
from Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of
my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet,
was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights
dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie.
This edition is part of The Solitude of Stars Project that I undertook during the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic, which consists of a series of arrangements that I made for
colleagues and friends.
In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists the gift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided with studio space, housing, and meals so that we can work continuously on our projects. I have been in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previous experiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a 20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 people living within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards from Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet, was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie. This edition is part of The Solitude of Stars Project that I undertook during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which consists of a series of arrangements that I made for colleagues and friends.
In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont,Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists thegift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided withstudio space, housing, and meals so that we can work continuously on our projects. I havebeen in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previousexperiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 peopleliving within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up forabundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcardsfrom Wyoming to offer three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects ofmy residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet,was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lightsdimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie.This edition is part of The Solitude of Stars Project that I undertook during the 2020COVID-19 pandemic, which consists of a series of arrangements that I made forcolleagues and friends.