Piccolo (doubling flute), Flute (doubling alto flute), Oboe, 2 Clarinets in Bb (one doubling Bass Clarinet), Bassoon

Percussion (1 Player): Marimba (low A required), 2 Wood Blocks, Large Tam-tam, Crotales (B3-Db5), 18-20” Suspended Cymbal (dark)

Baritone Voice

2 Violas, 2 Violoncelli

Program Note:

IceThorns (Four Settings of Paul Celan) for Baritone and Mixed Ensemble was composed in the spring of 2002. It is currently the centerpiece of an ongoing collection of works inspired by the poetry of Paul Celan. The difficulties in setting the poetry of Celan become clear even upon a quick glance at the texts, whether in German or in English translation. However, Celan's cryptic language, composite word concepts, and wonderful sense of syntax are irresistible for me as a composer. These four pieces are meant to be heard in this particular sequence, but are not necessarily intended to be musical enhancements of the texts. Instead, the music and the texts are equal players in a new world, where text and music are united to produce a meta-language in which the texts and ideas in Celan's poetry are sifted through my musical/emotional filters, thus producing a third voice and a new conceptual atmosphere.

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