Urban portraits

by Callahan, Dustin Lee

Urban Portraits is loosely programmatic in that no specific city is depicted; rather, I capture, in a broad manner, the essence of the big city spectacle. The first movement, scored for piano trio, alternates between lyrical folksy tunes, expansive chordal textures and faster ostinati material. The second, scored for clarinet, cello and piano, depicts the progression of a typical day in a big city setting. Opening the movement, a calm early morning is represented by a lyrical idea first stated in the clarinet. Then, the afternoon rush is signified by a brief accelerando that quickly builds to an explosive climax. The somewhat calm, understated material that opened the movement provides a peaceful conclusion to an otherwise chaotic day. The final movement, scored for complete ensemble, features jazz elements and captures the dynamic energy of life on the busy streets. © 2006/2007