Earthquake (Hephaistos) for clarinet, trombone and double bass

Description

Erdbeben (Hephaistos) op. 91b, 2014 (21’)
for clarinet, trombone and double bass

The music unfolds in three movements, beginning with a culmination in the first movement (the warnings that no one wants to acknowledge), followed by the great climax in the second movement (the devastating earthquake), and finally the mourning in the third movement for the losses suffered.

People go about their daily lives, working, meeting, celebrating and shutting themselves off from the ominous signs. Hephaestus forges, and dark signals herald disaster, but the warnings are not heeded until it is too late.

The first movement is a melancholy waltz in wich the first theme of the prelude is heard repeatedly as a warning. The second movement, an exuberant popular celebration, shows people suppressing their worries until disaster strikes. The third movement is marked by sadness, beginning again with the first theme of the prelude and then allowing the theme of the third movement to fully unfold.