Dancing on Water

The composer provides these program notes: “Dancing on Water is a joyous seven-minute tribute to my longtime friend and colleague, Richard Floyd. The work, partly inspired by Dick’s love of sailing, begins as an exuberant dance expressing feelings of unabashed joy and suggesting images of the sea on a perfect morning. This dance gives way to a heartfelt song, sung broadly by the horns and euphoniums and supported by a playful background of crisp eighth notes derived from the opening dance. This ‘song and dance’ might have been sufficient as the work’s material, but in the very center of the work appears something new — a kind of oasis, perhaps an island — a soulful interlude marked by mysterious solos and duos in the alto saxophone and clarinets. Then the work proceeds in reverse, suggesting an arch form, a return home by the same pathways, but with one final surprise. A massively full-throated coda lifts the exuberance level to new heights, driving this water journey to a powerfully exalted finish.”

Dr. Ticheli attributes his inspiration for the opening dance to the dances of Stravinsky in its crispness, orchestration, and particularly, use of accents. The image of the center section is of a boat on a calm day when the sea is like glass and the boat glides through the water. Attractive as a smooth sea is however, there is still a need for some wind in one’s sails, expressed by the playful eighth note passages interjected intermittently, just enough to keep the boat, and the piece moving.

Program Note by composer