Contemplation No. 1

for Cello and Piano

Notes on the piece:

Contemplation No. 1, written in 2003, is as its title suggests: a deep and personal reflection on a particular matter.  In this case, there are two contemplated matters.  One of these matters is purely musical, while the other is a reflection on a state of emotion.  The piece presents a rather limited amount of musical material that undergoes a focused investigation throughout the work.  Along with this, the piece uses what I refer to as “cross phrasing,” where the musicians are called on to make the subtle shift of feeling needed to make the final note of a phrase also function as the first note of the next phrase. Concerning the emotional content of the piece, there is not a particular identifiable event connected to this feeling, but rather is an attempt to preset it in the musical sense. For me, this is much like how a painter may try to capture the “feeling” of the particular light that falls on an object at a certain time of day.  The emotional feeling I attempt to capture in Contemplation No. 1 is not one of those that we give a single name to.  Rather, it is one of the multi-state feelings that most emotions tend to be.  As to what feeling it should evoke in the listener, I really cannot say I would know.

© Justin Casinghino 2013