Duration: 12 minutes
Instrumentation: 2+3/picc,2+3/EH,1+2/Eb+3/Bc,2+3Cbsn – 4,3,3,1 – timp+3 – hp – strings
Recording: excerpts from January 30, 2015 performance at Benaroya Hall, Seattle WA, by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra Ludovic Morlot conducting.
*Contact the composer for information on purchasing a score or renting the orchestra parts*
Program Notes:
Beyond Much Difference was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for their project, Sonic Evolution, which sought to integrate Seattle’s diverse popular music heritage with the classical music audience through commissioning of new music inspired by Seattle’s pop music icons. In particular, I was asked to compose a work inspired by over 20 years of music by the band Pearl Jam, a task I was excited to embark upon as a prior fan of their music. I came up with a list of qualities that I valued in their repertoire, as well as a few stylistic gestures common to key members like their lead guitarist, Mike McCready, that I could incorporate into motivic ideas without resorting to any musical quotation.
The programmatic inspiration for Beyond Much Difference arises from one Pearl Jam song in particular, Indifference, where the band expresses frustration with the unwillingness of others to stand up for what they believe is important and, when placed in a position where they take it upon themselves to act, they ask in the refrain, “How much difference does it make?” My answer to this question is “Beyond Much Difference.” Pearl Jam has a strong history of activism, including planting trees in Discovery Park to offset their carbon footprint while touring, standing up to unfair monopolies like Ticketmaster, and contributing substantially to research for Crohn’s Disease, and I felt it was important to honor their resolve in my piece.
The piece is separated into three main sections. The first introduces the main theme, heard immediately in the solo cello, which can be seen as an ideal or cause to be supported over the course of the work. The theme is often jerked in different directions, covered up, and interrupted. The second section acts as a drawn-out transition. The theme returns in a clear statement in the solo cello, but this time is taken up by other forces within the ensemble. However, it is frequently morphed, layered, and presented in a way to impart hesitance upon taking up the “cause”. After a few failed attempts, the idea is able to gain some momentum and builds into the final phase of the piece. This last section is fashioned similarly to the format of many Pearl Jam tunes, with verses, a refrain, and a bridge section, each in a different meter connected through metric modulation. This builds to the final measure of the piece, which winds down like a record being slowed to a stop.
– Angelique Poteat
Angelique Poteat 