Composition

Notes

Hymn for viola and cello I have always loved Appalachian hymns performed in two-part harmony with voices or fiddles. When Ms. Fogg asked me for an occasional piece for Celliola, I decided I would try and extrapolate an Appalachian-style model to compose a work that incorporated some of the most interesting and idiosyncratic elements of those two-part hymns into one of my own: spare harmonies with a lot of open fourths and fifths; phrases with odd rhythms and accents that sometimes need an extra beat or two; and voice leading and melodic shapes that heighten the emotional impact of the tune. Because I was using two string instruments with very large pitch ranges, I opened up the melodic lines more than would be possible with two singers, but I tried to make them fit the general melodic and harmonic principles of the style. In the end, I started composing my hymn’s tune and just
followed my musical instincts without “constructing” it in any way that I might normally do.