Jarrell – Emergences (Nachlese VI) for cello and orchestra

Written by Jeff Counts

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (2nd doubles alto flute, 3rd doubles piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, celesta/piano, strings.

Duration: 20 minutes.

THE COMPOSER – MICHAEL JARRELL (b. 1958) – In 2007, Geneva-born Michael Jarrell began a cycle of connected works that made use of material from previous projects that, for various reasons, had to be set aside. The original grouping includes …Nachlese… for soprano and string quartet, …Nachlese…II for violin and cello and …Nachlese…III – Es bleibt eine zitternde Bebung… for clarinet, cello and orchestra. Jarrell describes the concept behind the set and its latest addition as follows:

THE MUSIC – “Composition works like an arborescent structure. At each ramification you choose a path, which depends on the whole dynamic of the entire piece. Doing this, you leave quite a lot of ideas and fragments behind. Nachlese is a German term already used by Goethe for the idea of “reading again”, referring to, commenting on…

The idea of this cycle (Nachlese) is to come back to some musical ideas which I liked and found interesting, but were inappropriate in a different context and to develop them in new directions.

When choosing a title I like it to refer to different techniques used in the piece, but also very directly to what is heard at some moments. For instance, in the first movement the orchestra “emerges” from the very fast and nervous line played by the soloist and then, later, the “climax” of this movement “emerges” from the fast line then played by the orchestra.

This piece is dedicated to Jean-Guihen Queyras and Thierry Fischer, two wonderful artists I admire.”

Emergences was completed on December 17, 2011.

THE WORLD – 2011-2012 has been (and will continue to be) an interesting season of premieres in the orchestra business. In good company with Michael Jarrell are Americans John Adams, Steven Mackey and John Harbison, Finland’s Magnus Lindberg, Mexico’s Enrico Chapela and Jonathan Harvey of Britain, just to name a few.

THE CONNECTION – These performances represent the World Premiere of Emergences, which was a co-commission by Utah Symphony, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.