"Fountain" for Violin, Tuba, and Piano was written for the Duration Trio's Public Arts Project at Texas Tech University. 

Annie Chalex Boyle, violin
Kevin Wass, tuba
Susan Wass, piano

When I first encountered "Fountain" by Juanjo Novella, I was immediately struck by its dramatic dynamism. It’s a grand display of steel situated outside of Texas Tech's Petroleum Engineering building that seemingly swirls through the air as it interacts with light. As sunlight moves across the metal surface and through its openings, elegant shadows are cast across the sculpture and the courtyard surrounding it. The combination of these shadows with the structure’s towering steel conjures imagery of swirling water. For my composition, I hoped to not only portray the dynamic motion of the sculpture and the intricacies of its shadows, but to also consider the imagery that Novella was inspired by when he designed the work: petroleum and water moving together.

My piece begins with short swirling gestures in the violin and a soaring melody in the tuba. As the piece continues, the violin and tuba play melodies against each other and glide across gentle undulations and robust rumblings in the piano. Once the rumblings have subsided, the piece unfolds into a sweet, graceful section with the ensemble subtly “shadowing” each other through imitation. Depicting light and shadow, the violin plays bright harmonics while the tuba plays warmly underneath. Eventually, the section slows and the texture thins back down to the swirling solo violin from the beginning. This time, the violin plays the opening material in its lowest octave, and rather than repeating the beginning, the tuba enters in its high register and moves in parallel with the violin. Soon, the piano enters playing both parts in a higher range, depicting shimmering light reflecting in water, or even the iridescent colors of petroleum. From here, the piece pushes to its climax: a return to the loud rumbling of the piano with the violin and tuba playing in its higher registers.

Fountain

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Anoushka Divekar, Clarinet
Susan Wass, Piano

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