Craters of the Moon for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano

This composition was composed for Trio De Bois (Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon) and Piano. There are three movements that are inspired by Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. It is especially appropriate during this 50th anniversary of the moon walk as the astronauts trained at this location. The first movement is called Violent Past. Much of this movement is built around the dissonant intervals of a half step and the tritone.These intervals are used both melodically and harmonically. The second movement is called "Lunar Landscape" and is more evocative rather than descriptive. It creates a feeling of vastness and openness.This movement is a tribute to the 50th anniversary of landing on the moon that is being celebrated at the same time that this movement was created. The Apollo 14 astronauts trained at Craters of the Moon in 1969 in order to learn more about volcanic geology. The movement is built around a "walking" passacaglia theme that is mainly in the left hand of the piano. After its initial statement, the passacaglia theme is accompanied by open 4ths and 5ths in the piano that later appear in the oboe and clarinet, and then in imitation between the piano and high winds. A more melodic variant of the passacaglia theme occurs in the bassoon over the original in the piano. All this material is developed before the opening material returns in the original key and tempo before eventually fading into the distance. "Forces of Nature" is the title of the third movement. There are five natural phenomena in the park that are represented musically, The Great Rift, Lava Flow, Vents, Cinder Cones, and Lava Tubes. Each of these have a motif that is descriptive and the motifs transform and combine as the movement progresses.