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Susurra

(2025)

6 minutes

Solo Clarinet

Performance Information

Commissioned by Nancy Braithwaite

Photo by Donald Giannatti on Unsplash

About

The title Susurra (Latin for "whispers") sets the stage for a collection of short vignettes, each meticulously exploring a different facet of the clarinet’s expressive personality.

The first movement, Murmuro ("murmur"), is built on a foundation of hushed, spinning gestures. Repeated figures return in constantly shifting rhythmic guises: a technique that becomes increasingly exaggerated in the middle section, where the unstable patterns lend the music an almost "drunken," off-kilter momentum.


Following this restlessness, Cantico ("hymn" or "song") offers a delicate, lyrical respite. This central movement provides a moment of stillness between the rhythmically intricate outer sections, showcasing the clarinet’s cantabile (singing) qualities. The suite concludes with Divertimento, a quirky and effusive scherzo. This finale is the work’s most outwardly dance-like movement, full of spirited energy that builds toward a brilliant, driving coda.


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