Howe: Autumn Light

Description

Composer's Note:

Autumn is the time when we steadily lose light and the evening darkness comes earlier each day. The leaves turn from green to various shades of yellow, red and brown. Even so, the change from daylight savings to standard time still comes as a great shock. This piece was written in September and October of 2024, when a string of resoundingly beautiful days belied a persistent drought and danger of fire.

Autumn Light begins with a climax, followed by softer passages that lay out a developing harmonic pattern, stated by long tones that are mostly in the woodwinds and brasses, while the melodies are in the strings and sometimes the woodwinds. The climax returns near the end, after which the piece moves in a slightly newer direction and ends quietly.

2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, trb, tba, strings