Parallel Tracks Piano Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1404728

A one movement work that emulates the feeling of a cross country train ride. Scored for violin, viloa, cello,and piano, this seven miute composition fits perfectly on any program.

PROGRAM NOTES

“Parallel Tracks” was primarily inspired by a ten day train trip, from the heart of Virginia to the far west and back. It is not necessarily a narrative of that journey. Rather, it is a collage of sensations, taking in the sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings of the voyage. Much like the views through the train windows, the musical vistas of this work change rapidly. There are rolling fertile plains, deep river valleys, and jagged mountainous peaks. The train passes through some of the nations’s larg- est cities and some of its tiniest bergs, crosses some of the oldest and newest mountain ranges in the country. There are tunnels and trestles, forests, farms, and prairies. It is incredibly calm yet delightfully exciting.

There is something elegant about spending an extended period crossing the country in an Amtrak roomette. On such trains as the Cardinal, the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, and the Califor- nia Zephyr, it feels as if one is stepping into the past. Nothing is rushed. Fine dining, spectacular views, riveting conversations with strangers. The grandeur of the mighty stations, such as Union Station in Chicago. And the humble beauty of the smaller stops like Staunton, Virginia, my starting and ending point.

The perpetual motion of train travel is unique. The movement can feel smooth at times and bone rattling just a few minutes later. It can be a quiet purr or the sound of grating metal. And yet the gentle sway can envelop one like a blanket, enticing deep sleep throughout the night. Waking to pastries and coffee while rolling across the countryside is divine. And elegant.

“Parallel Tracks” begins with a sound of forward motion put forth by the piano. Smooth and easy. Plucked strings ride on top of the steady piano pad as the chain of cars passes effortlessly through fields. As the cello presents the first theme, a more strident feeling is revealed and explored, driv- ing the engine toward its dramatic destinations. The first climax gives way to a playful scherzo-like section, the elegance of the journey on full display. The return of the first theme at a more majestic tempo announces that the voyage’s terminus is near.

The parallel tracks on which a train glides are always a fixed distance and never cross. The parallel tracks of life are not so bound by mathematics. There is something more fluid when the tracks are allowed to cross. The string section and the piano each create their own track in this composition, frequently squaring off. At times it is if they are on the same train but sitting in opposite directions and on the opposite side of the car. There are moments that even sound as if they are proceeding at two different speeds. But their tracks are never too divergent, never really out of sync. And both arrive at the final stop together.