Liquid Ebony

Dana Wilson

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Subtitle: Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble

General Info

Year: 2002 / 2005
Duration: c. 14:15
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Clarinet and piano
Publisher: Dana Wilson
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $115.00 | Score Only (print) - $35.00

Movements

1. Call – 3:35
2. Prayer – 5:20
3. Dance of Not Pretending – 4:50

Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Many instruments can express both exuberant joy and dark pathos, but the clarinet has the ability to express both almost at once, moving instantly with liquid grace from one to the other. It seems that is why it is such a perfect choice for Eastern European folk traditions, including well known Klezmer music: it implores, not to forget about or deny life’s difficulty, but to sing and dance joyously and defiantly in its midst.

It is this sense of the clarinet that informed the composition of this piece. On the surface, each movement is rather different in nature, but the tenacious reinterpretation of the same material in each is intended to reinforce the overlaying of contrasting emotions. The first is exuberant yet uncertain, the second introspective yet purposeful, the third a Bulgarian romp amidst an ominous reality.

Liquid Ebony was commissioned by Larry Combs, principal clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony, and premiered with pianist Gail Niwa at the 2003 Clarinet Fest in Salt Lake City, Utah. The version with wind ensemble was commissioned and premiered by the West Point Band with Mr. Combs as soloist.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown
Audio CD: West Point Band (John Parrette, conductor; Larry Combs, clarinet)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin, conductor; Amber Lucas, clarinet) - 7 December 2021
Penn State University (University Park) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Dennis Glocke, conductor; Anthony Poehailos, clarinet) – 16 November 2016
Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) Wind Ensemble (Larry Lang, conductor; Richard McDowell, clarinet) – 8 May 2016
Hastings (Nebraska) College Wind Ensemble (Daniel Laing, conductor; Andrew DeBoer, clarinet) – Spring 2013
Boise (Id.) State University Symphonic Winds (Eric Smedley, conductor; Leslie Moreau, clarinet) – 24 March 2011 (CBDNA 2011 National Conference, Seattle, Wash.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

A complete list of Dana Wilson's compositions may be found here:

Avatar, The (2005)
Awakening... (2011)
The Banquet (2017)
Black Nightshade (2004)
Calling, Ever Calling (1990)
Clarion Call (1988)
Colorado Peaks (2009)
Concerto for Double Bass and Wind Ensemble (2010)
Concerto for Drum Set and Wind Ensemble (2021)
Concerto for Horn and Wind Ensemble (1997)
Concerto for Jazz Piano and Wind Ensemble (2019)
Concerto for Trombone (2015)
Concerto for Tuba (Wilson) (2012)
Conjurer, The (2015)
Dance of the New World (1992)
Day Dreams (2006)
Evolution (1999)
Fanfare for a New Center (2011)
Fanfare for Karel (2017)
Footsteps (2010)
Front Burner (2020)
How Very Close (2012)
Io Rising
Kah! Out of Darkness (1999)
Last Ride to Solutré (1998)
Leader Lieder (1993)
Liquid Ebony (2006)
Liquid Gold (2005)
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (2013/2019)
Odysseus and the Sirens (2008)
Of my dream before me... (2021)
Old Number One (2017)
On Fire! (2017)
The One-Lady Band from Owego (2021)
Piece of Mind (1987)
Primal Worlds (2000)
Quintessence (2019)
Sang! (1993)
Searching for Lost Dreams (2013)
Shakata: Singing the World into Existence (1989)
Shortcut Home (2003)
Speak to Me (2010)
...the harder they fall (2004)
the most sacred of times (2022)
Time Cries, Hoping Otherwise (1991)
To Set the Darkness Echoing (2005)
Uprising (1995)
Vortex (1999)
When I Am Gone Away (2006)
Winds on the Steppes (1994)

Resources

Dana Wilson website - 7 December 2021
Wilson, D. (2005). Liquid Ebony: For Clarinet and Wind Ensemble [score]. Dana Wilson: [Ithaca, N.Y.].