solo cello
10’00”
composed 2004
commissioned and premiered by cellist Matthew Cooker (Los Angeles, California)
Composer’s Note
Urban Dances and Mountain Songs is a solo cello suite based upon American popular music. Jazz, rock, and bluegrass are all incorporated into each of the four movements of this work. The use of these musical styles is at times quite subtle, such as in the melancholy "blues song" of the third movement, and at other times completely obvious, as in the hoe-down of the fourth movement.
Inspiration for this work came while spending time in Sewanee, Tennessee - located in the mountains bordering Tennessee and Alabama. The setting, while beautiful beyond words, is also frighteningly calm compared to the stress of city life that I am accustomed to.
Commissioned by Matthew Cooker.