for four clarinetists

Duration: 16’
I. Cumulus
II. Cirrus
III. Stratus
IV. Nimbus

Clarinets 1 & 2: E-flat and B-flat clarinets; Clarinets 3 & 4: B-flat and bass clarinets

Everything about clouds has always been fascinating to me. From asking my mom if she knew what clouds tasted like to staring out airplane windows at the stoic, wispy clouds brushed on the sky above and the luxurious bed of thick, layered clouds below—something about the fleeting nature and vast variation has grasped my attention from a young age.

When my colleagues and I founded the Nimbus Quartet, I immediately set out to compose us this unique and relevant work in which the instrumentation, texture, and content of the music reflects four different types of clouds.

Cumulus clouds are the ones that look like cotton candy, the ones you lay on your back in the grass on a warm summer day and point out shapes and animals being formed and whisked away in the sky. The music that portrays these clouds is just that: warm and textured, but different shapes appear and vanish throughout. Cirrus are the highest, wispy clouds that look like they’re painted on the sky. They look cold and windswept, yet they do not appear to move. This movement’s music is played by the highest instrumentation and is not beholden to time, just as these clouds appear still but move quite quickly. Stratus clouds are low, thick, and layered. For this movement, the instrumentation drops in range and the primary musical element is texture. Finally, to represent nimbus clouds—or storm clouds—I used the lowest instrumentation, and they are illustrated through an aggressive melody and a fast, rushing background.

This work is the first piece written for the Nimbus Quartet and is dedicated to its other members (in score order) Sarah Butler, Keith Spradlin, and Timothy Hanley.