Dance of the Mountain Raindrops

Program Notes

This piece was a commission from a friend, Theresa Fish Lura, a violinist and clinical pathologist in northeast Tennessee.

As its title suggests, Dance of the Mountain Raindrops depicts a gentle, warm, summer rain falling over the lush vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains, an area in which the composer has spent many hours and hiked many miles. Raindrops seem to dance as they splash off moss covered logs and drip from the leaves of dense rhododendron.

In the opening, the raindrops are represented by the "dancing" sixteenth note patterns in the piano while the staid grandeur of the mountains is depicted by the sustained string chords. Next, the violins transform the piano runs into more rhythmic thematic material, suggestive of the fast moving runoff tributaries, while the low strings begin a slowly rising bass theme reminiscent of the deeper running mountain rivers.

The piano then returns, its "raindrops" jazzier now as the downfall intensifies. The strings begin entering layer upon layer as the water flows everywhere. Next, the observer begins to notice all the dripping from the trees and leaves as the pizzicato strings enter one by one on repeating patterns (ostinati) which again adds one layer to the next. Finally the piano returns to its opening "raindrop" pattern, but this time the strings express an uninhibited joy over the beauty and wildness of Creation.

This page last updated on 07/27/07