| Title |
Sunlight among the Pines |
| Year |
2001 |
| Composer |
Martin Schreiner |
| Instrument/s |
shakuhachi, koto |
| Commission |
Written for: Afternoon of Shakuhachi and Koto Music concerts #6 |
| Duration |
10′ |
| First Performance (date, performers, venue) |
May 20, 2001, Afternoon of Shakuhachi and Koto Music Concerts #6, Marco Lienhard and Ryuko Mizutani, Saint Paul’s Church, Brookline, Massachusetts |
| Contact for Sheets |
the composer |
| Contact Info |
https://mmschreiner.instantencore.com/web/home.aspx |
| Notes |
“Sunlight Among the Pines …” is a five movement suite depicting scenes from an imaginary pine grove through the four seasons—as the subtitles suggest. The suite begins and ends in winter with the opening koto figure appearing in both the first and fifth movements. The subtitle for each movement is meant to be suggestive of significant features in the music. In movement I, “… in a Winter Sunrise,” the sunrise rise is suggested in the gradual rise and expansion of the range of pitches used by each instrument. In movement II, “… Morning Dew in Spring,” the accented falling leaps played by the shakuhachi might suggest the dripping dew. Movement III, “… with a Summer Breeze,” in 5/8 meter, has a continuously gentle swaying. Movement IV, “… with an Autumn Migration Alighting,” uses tremolo figures to suggest the flutter of wings and the descent of birds onto the pine branches. The weight of the snow in Movement V, “… Ladened with New Fallen Snow,” is depicted through the bending pitch tremolo of the koto and the descending fourths figure of the shakuhachi. [Martin Schreiner] |
