Duration: 9 minutes
Recording: From the world premiere performance in May 2014 in Seattle, WA by Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby, flute; Laura DeLuca, clarinet; Mikhail Shmidt, violin; David Sabee, cello; Kimberly Russ, piano; and Michael Werner, percussion
Much Difference – Score and Parts – $56.00
*All Prices include Tax and Shipping*
Program Notes:
Much Difference was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for their 2014 Carnegie Hall tour, which included a chamber music performance at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, NY. It was written as a prototype for its larger orchestral version, Beyond Much Difference. While the two pieces are very similar, Beyond Much Difference is an expanded version of Much Difference, both in orchestration and duration.
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 “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 