Yet
-- Piano Encore
This 3 minute encore is included in the Piano Implications collection, or it may be purchased separately. All of the pieces in Piano Implications explore the visual and conceptional ideas in music. As always, clues to understanding these pieces are to be found in the title, the engraving, performance notes, and in the musical language.
Like other compositions in the Abstractions Series, Yet is not just an expression of technique or mood, but of ideas that have their counterparts in language, literature and art.
The definition of the English word "yet" is illusive. Its polar opposite, "not yet," is really not its opposite. If you asked someone for the opposite of "not yet," it is doubtful you would hear the word "yet." One would more likely hear the word "now" as the suggested opposite of "not yet," but "now" doesn't have the same subtle connotation of acceptance. "Not yet" implies a holding back, something inappropriate to the moment.
If you look up the word "yet" in the dictionary, you won't find the synonym "now" listed. In fact, you'll find several suggested meanings, which are very subtle in their distinction and use.
For a word that sounds so definite, "yet" is very uncertain of itself.
So, what is the concept of "yet?"
The central theme in this composition is a "not yet." As initially stated, the theme is incomplete. It either needs to attach to something, become augmented, more developed, or completely reorganized. It's cyclic in nature. It suggests several complimentary conclusions, but their expression simply leads to continued, cyclic adjuncts.
In the beginning of the piece, this theme is continually interrupted as it tries to fit in - or fit with - different harmonizations, different styles, different tempi, etc. As such, it is repeatedly confronted with rejection . It is, after all, "not yet."
Frustration builds in ascending, dissonant chords that link repeated attempts at the theme's acceptance. Acceptance... not evolution. Finally, the frustration is released in a burst of energy around measure 65. This is the "yet," and it is to be played as aggressively as possible.
When initially presented, this composition ended at measure 78, and it may still be performed in this configuration. The adagio Postlude was recently added and offers a quieter, more resolute "yet."
The tempo, with the exception of the Postlude, is brisk, the range is extensive and the dynamics are extreme. Meters include 4/4, 5/4, 2/4, 1/4, 3/4, and 6/8, just what you would expect from a theme trying to fit in. We strongly recommend the CD to reduce the learning curve.
Approximate performance time: 3:20 minutes.
MP3 excerpts can be heard using the links below. PDF files (which can be viewed using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader) show the piano score that corresponds to the MP3 excerpts.
Excerpt 1
Sound - Measures 3-11 - MP3 format
Score - Measures 3-11 - PDF format
Excerpt 2
Excerpt 3
Excerpt 4 - Postlude
Yet
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Piano Implications. Includes Yet and 5 other scores for Piano.
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