Saratoga Trails (Instrumental Quartet)

This composition for clarinet quartet was written for Bertrand Hainaut and his clarinet quartet Anches Hantées, who commissioned the work in 2009. I took advantage of a trip and an artist residency at the Montalvo Arts Center in California from October to November 2011, to write the first movement. This place is located in Saratoga, not far from Los Gatos, a small town on the outskirts of San Jose. Not having a preconceived theme for this quartet before my trip, I was inspired by the surrounding magical places to give the title and the tripartite form of the work, inspired by "trails" - or paths - where I walked during my stay.

 

I. Redwood Trail is reminiscent of a visit to the famous Sequoia Evergreen Park, trees that can exceed 100 meters in height and live more than 2,000 years, called California Redwood. The very "American" rhythmic character of this movement is a double nod to minimalist music and Leonard Bernstein, with a wink to West Side Story. The other two movements were written in Paris, after my return to France, in February then in May-June 2012, using sketches elaborated in Montalvo. The first clarinet plays the clarinets in Bb and Eb only in this movement. In the other two, it will play only the Eb.

 

II. Creek Trail evokes a steep path in the wooded hills surrounding Saratoga. Arriving at the top of the highest hill, at a place called "look-out", we have a magnificent view from which we see the San Francisco Bay. The music is serene, with a stormy central passage and a mysterious ending with a coda punctuated by a strange pulsation.

 

In III. Bear Trail, I borrow a rhythm of electronic / danse music that serves as a permanent ostinato to this movement, on which unfold various rhythmic and melodic variations. During my American stay, I listened to a

lot of electronic music from various bands, DJs as well as club and techno music, while I was driving a large rental cream-color Buick, which was very nice. I deliberately wanted to mark this quartet with this electronic imprint, thus emotionally linking it to this period of my life. - Richard Dubugnon