Work Information
| Publisher |
Associated Music Publishers Inc |
Category |
Works for 2-6 Players |
| Sub-Category |
Mixed Ensemble |
Year Composed |
1977 |
| Duration |
13 Minutes |
Orchestration |
fl, cl, vn, vc, pf |
| Availability |
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| Score and Part(s)(s): |
50481978 |
Score and Part(s)(s): |
HL50481978 |
Programme Note
Composer Note:
Amazon was written for the Da Capo Chamber Players with a commission from the Contemporary Music Society. The great Brazilian river, the Amazon, provides some of the images reflected in this piece. There is a generally consistent background flow that is interrupted only occasionally by "static" events or by silence, and which undergoes change in speed and width through the pacing of notes and the type of texture being articulated. Some different kinds of associations with the river will be evident in the trill passages (ripples of water) and in the fast unison passages (which have the effect of a waterfall and water turbulence). An orchestral version of this piece, Amazon II was premiered by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Amazon III, a chamber orchestra version, was later premiered by the Houston Symphony.
—Joan Tower
Reviews
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Tower’s "Amazon" is not the feminist piece one might expect from the composer of "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman." Instead, it is a lyrical evocation of the mighty river. The rippling rills and the crosscurrents of rhythm place this in the delightful company of the very best water music by Lizst, Debussy and Ravel.
Richard Dyer, The Globe, 15/08/1994
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Joan Tower, who was in residence at Norfolk for two weeks, noted her "extraordinary experience" working with young composers and performers, and introduced her 1977 piece, "Amazon," as attempting to depict the seamless flow of a mighty river.
The work—for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano—truly revealed the dynamic, forceful, and highly persuasive playing of Speculum. Far from being distant or boring, the music reaches out and grabs your attention, partly because it is tantalizingly unfamiliar, amply rewarding you as a result. A lyrical melody need not be the only aural pleasure in life.
Johnathan P. Turner, The LItchfield County Times, 02/07/1993
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