Loveliness Extreme (2007)

for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano

Duration: 11 min

Commission: newEar contemporary chamber ensemble

Premiere: newEar contemporary chamber ensemble-April 28, 2007; Kansas City, MO

Alternate Instrumentation: Clarinet, Viola and Piano

Program Note: Words are the inspirational seeds for much of the music I write. “Loveliness Extreme” was inspired by Gertrude Stein’s 1913 poem, “Sacred Emily”:

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

Loveliness extreme.

Extra gaiters,

Loveliness extreme.

Sweetest ice-cream

Pages ages page ages page ages.

Reading Stein, I get the sense that she was digging deep under each word, turning each over itself and the next, inside and out, to discover the possibilities that lay beneath. Stein said: “One of the things that is a very interesting thing to know is how you are feeling inside you to the words that are coming out to be outside of you.” The words “loveliness” and “extreme,” together, created a beautiful inner landscape that allowed me to discover a deeper understanding of the connection between what starts on the inside and grows into something that can be experienced on the outside. “Loveliness Extreme” was originally commissioned by newEar contemporary chamber ensemble for violin, clarinet, cello and piano and premiered in 2007. The trio version for viola, clarinet and piano was arranged for the Wakarusa Trio in 2013.