Pierrot Sketches

Abstract

Pierrot Sketches is comprised of nine short movements of varying instrumental combinations and length, from 50 seconds to three minutes. The compositional goal was to focus on the complexities of form and development on a smaller scale. This aspect of compression allows for focus on clear, directed melodic lines, strong emotionally packed gestures, repetition and divergence, and the different instrumental combinations of texture and timbre and their contribution to form. The title of this work is taken from Arnold Schoenberg’s well known chamber work Pierrot Lunaire, which is now a standard reference to this instrumentation— “Pierrot ensemble” (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and, in this case, the addition of percussion). “Sketches” refers to the nature of the work—a collection, a book of rough drawings that may or may not relate to each other, but can be taken as a whole. While each movement is its own sound world, together these individual works are written to form a complete landscape.