O Clarissima (2015)
For Viola and Piano
Duration: 8 minutes
First performed by Waibun Chan and Dylan Perez, May 18, 2015
Perusal Score (PDF)
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Much of the source material for this slow, contemplative work comes from the haunting plainchant melody O Magne Pater by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). Fragments of Hildegard’s music – which I have freely isolated, developed, and embellished – form the basis of rhapsodic yet delicate lines heard initially on the viola and later traded between the two instruments. The title is borrowed from another of Hildegard’s works, which is referenced here not through quotation but rather metaphorically, in the form of bright piano harmonies and stratospheric viola writing only glimpsed as the piece nears its conclusion.