Dance Forms (2022)

General Information

Movements:
I. Prelude
II. Running
III. Lullaby
IV. Fantasy
V. Whirl

Commissioner: Written for Adrienne Hyde
Written: July – August, 2022
Duration: ca. 13.5’
Instrumentation: solo violoncello (baroque or modern)

Perusal Score

~ This score below is intended for perusal purposes only, and may not be used for performance. To obtain performance materials, please click here. Thank you! ~

Performance History

March 3, 2024: Francis Fedora [III and IV] at the Hot Air Music Festival, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, CA (World Premiere, Partial)

July 13th, 2022: Isabelle Nichols [I] and Nathaniel White [III] at the Zodiac Music Festival, Valdeblore, France (World Premiere, Partial)

Program Note

In Summer 2022, I had the opportunity to sing on a concert tour alongside Adrienne Hyde, a spectacular cellist whose musicality and virtuosic technique inspired my writing a piece for solo (baroque) cello. A suite in five movements, Dance Forms sources inspiration from the Baroque dance suites for the same instrumentation (the Bach cello suites being by far the most well-known of the genre). Each movement is an abstract interpretation of a Baroque dance form, hence the title: while the 'Prelude' and 'Fantasy' are easily identified, the second movement, 'Running', is based on the Courante dance (an up-tempo dance in 3/4 meter); the third movement, 'Lullaby', is based on the Sarabande (a very slow dance in 3/4 meter); and 'Whirl', as typical of final movements in Baroque suites, is based on the gigue form (a fast dance in 6). But specific Baroque forms aside, Dance Forms is primarily a piece about movement in music itself: the varying ways rhythm, harmony, and line can take us on a physical journey through space.

In addition to Adrienne, I am deeply grateful to Ariel Barnes, Nathaniel White, Austin Jacobsen, Isabelle Nichols, and the faculty and composition studio of the 2022 Zodiac Music Festival and Academy for their help, support, guidance, and enthusiasm for the creation of this piece.

Recording available upon request. Please use the contact form linked in the menu above, or email me at ben.beckman@yale.edu.