Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano
Clarinet - Digital Sheet Music

The trio opens with a nightmarish response to Debussy’s piano prelude "...des pas dans la neige." (Footsteps in the snow.) Although it borrows its short melodic and rhythmic motif from Debussy’s still and calm work, its mood is diametrically opposed – in truth, an appropriate title for this movement might well be "blood in the snow"! After the texture unwinds, shatters, and disintegrates, the three instruments feel their way in the dark and gradually attempt to piece things back together. Nevertheless, the piano concludes with a muffled, resigned version of its introductory gesture, suggesting that nothing has been resolved.

The second movement oscillates between contemplative and playful moods. This ambivalence is present from the start, when the searching violin solo of the opening is punctuated by playful bird-like comments from the piano. The clarinet ushers in a faster middle section during which the three instruments have a dialogue and both the "bird" idea and the violin’s rising

gesture are developed. Low piano chords introduce the last section of the movement: a sparse and somewhat thorny landscape, with the clarinet playing a mournful melody with bluesy ac- cents. There is a sense of physical distance be- tween the three instruments at that point, as they appear to be listening to each other, trying to imitate one another, find each other, and resume their conversation.

While the music in the second movement tends to be polyphonic, with the three instruments off on their own simultaneously exhibiting different intentions, in the last movement, they start out working together with a tight unity of purpose (by playing the same part in octaves). As the piece progresses, playful exchanges and con- trasts in mood occur, sections of music from the preceding two movements are woven in, and some new tonal music – reminiscent of Poulenc – brings both drama and relief.