Now It’s Your Tern!🕊️
Now it’s Your Tern🕊️
The title is a play on words, a pun that reflects the daring do of this tiny, but very brave bird! As our friend looks around and sees his colleagues headed into a dangerous trip he finally has to come to terms with being a tern, and realizes that it is, indeed, his turn to fly!
The trills signify the playfulness that the bird must bring to this gigantic task, lest he be overwhelmed by the magnitude of his journey.
The right hand octave figures throughout signify the wind beneath his wings (apologies to Bette Midler!) that he must use to his best advantage.
The glissando represents his bravery, which you must bring to bear as he begins to fall through, and lose faith in his ability. So he soars, throws caution to the wind, and then, letting himself drop, he finds respite as the wind ruffles his feathers.
The arpeggios of certain chords are played in this manner to save energy, and to propel our friend forward as the sun begins to sink - almost as if a wave is propelling him forward into the coming night.
In measure 10, the attention and release between the B-flat in the dom7/diminished chord and the B natural resolves the tension between flight and gravity. Up, up, upwards, while all the while the earth continually calls the bird back down - down to the world he must leave behind to survive.
I testify that this is an regional composition by myself; Professor Kevin McCluskey, Boston, Massachusetts, July 28, 2024
The title is a play on words, a pun that reflects the daring do of this tiny, but very brave bird! As our friend looks around and sees his colleagues headed into a dangerous trip he finally has to come to terms with being a tern, and realizes that it is, indeed, his turn to fly!
The trills signify the playfulness that the bird must bring to this gigantic task, lest he be overwhelmed by the magnitude of his journey.
The right hand octave figures throughout signify the wind beneath his wings (apologies to Bette Midler!) that he must use to his best advantage.
The glissando represents his bravery, which you must bring to bear as he begins to fall through, and lose faith in his ability. So he soars, throws caution to the wind, and then, letting himself drop, he finds respite as the wind ruffles his feathers.
The arpeggios of certain chords are played in this manner to save energy, and to propel our friend forward as the sun begins to sink - almost as if a wave is propelling him forward into the coming night.
In measure 10, the attention and release between the B-flat in the dom7/diminished chord and the B natural resolves the tension between flight and gravity. Up, up, upwards, while all the while the earth continually calls the bird back down - down to the world he must leave behind to survive.
I testify that this is an regional composition by myself; Professor Kevin McCluskey, Boston, Massachusetts, July 28, 2024
Published
Flute
Piano