GLOW

The inspiration for this concerto, GLOW, arose from “color”. Initially inspired by the artwork of painter Eva Darrington in her Colorfield series and a quote by Wassily Kandinsky, I also wanted to explore the wide range of colors possible on the electric guitar, with its various pedals and sound effects.

“I applied streaks and blobs of colors onto the canvas with a palette knife and made them sing with all the intensity I could.” Kandinsky

One will hear a range of electric guitar effects including delay, chorus, feedback, reverb, distortion, “whammy bar” vibrato as well as different textures created by harmonics, bends, palm muting and the use of a violin bow and an Ebow. My own synesthesia also came into play, wherein I imagine colors when listening to musical pitches and hear notes to colors. I’ve had synesthesia as long as I can remember, and this neurological condition in which one sense stimulates another strongly influences the harmonies, pitch centers and emotional qualities of my music. Growing up with an artist mother, Louise Clearfield, I remember the vibrant colors in her studio and would compose early works to her paintings. “Color” to me now represents not only visual colors, but the overall character or feeling of a work. GLOW employs colorful harmonies, energetic rhythms and rock-infused solos. For the latter, I reached back to my early days playing keyboards in rock bands.

The concerto has three movements. The first, “SING” features shifting harmonies under fluid guitar cantabile melodies and intimate soloistic passages in the orchestra based on a recurring interval of a descending fourth. The second, “STREAK”, begins with waves of harmonics and percussive strings, exploding into propulsive motion and incisive chordal punctuations. The last movement, “GLOW” is a modal landscape of undulating textures and rock-infused solos.

It was a great pleasure to work with highly gifted soloist, Jordan Dodson, who generously made videos of effects on his guitar and played through sketches in progress. I am deeply grateful to the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter for awarding me the Steven R. Gerber Composer Residency which allowed me this exciting opportunity to write my first concerto for electric guitar.

–Andrea Clearfield