Winter Melodies
Instrumentation: String Quartet or String Orchestra
- Gusts of Snow 2:47
- Wind and Ice 4:24
- Frost on Roses 5:56
- Hot Chocolate 3:47
©1984, 1995, 2001
Publisher: Reese & Hassing Music
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Description
Winter Melodies is a programmatic work—each movement paints a picture of winter or emotions brought on by winter.
Program Notes
The Groveland String Quartet of Minneapolis, Minnesota commissioned Winter Melodies in 1984. The orchestra version was written for the San José Chamber Orchestra’s 2000–2001 Tenth Anniversary season. The original commission was to write a melodious, accessible work that a widely varied audience would understand and enjoy. The Groveland Quartet wanted a piece that evoked images of winter, its beauty, harshness, and cold.
Winter Melodies is a programmatic work—each movement paints a picture of winter or emotions brought on by winter.
In Gusts of Snow, the wind curls tendrils of snow across a field and around trees. Quartal harmony, sliding trills, folded scales and dance-like rhythms contribute to the open and spacious feeling of this movement.
Wind and Ice sounds the way cold feels. The whistling sound you first hear represents wind and the high artificial harmonics—the ice. The cold, forlorn melody evokes images of despair and bitter cold.
The third movement, Frost on Roses, describes lost love. The picture of a rose, its petals black with the first frost, represents grief.
When the cold and dark of winter gets to be too much, what a person needs is a cup of Hot Chocolate! This upbeat swing jazz piece pays tribute to famous swing tunes in its theme and variations format. Each variation has a name that reflects its tribute tune.
Variation 1: Miller Time (String of Pearls; composer, Jerry Gray)
Variation 2: Floogee Feet (Flat Foot; Floogee; composers, Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart, and Bud Green)
Variation 3: Mood Swings (In the Mood; composer, Joe Garland)