Sowash: [Lincolnesque] for clarinet, violin and cello.

Americans grow up loving Abraham Lincoln.  We see his strange face in the famous black-and-white photos, looking sad and tired but also kind and faintly humorous.  A homely face, a tall, gawky figure, yet children know that they could climb over his bony knees and curl up in his lap and feel safe and loved.

Lincolnesque is the title of the second of five movements in my "Trio con Brio" for violin, clarinet and cello.  I wrote the work in 1999 for my clarinetist friend Angelo Santoro.  Since Angelo planned to premiere the trio in a concert scheduled for February 12, Abe’s birthday, I decided to write a movement honoring Lincoln.

What music evokes Mr. Lincoln?  Aaron Copland’s fine work for narrator and orchestra, A Lincoln Portrait, effectively portrays the public Lincoln -- the great leader, orator, folk hero.

With only three instruments at my disposal, I tried to write a more intimate portrait, a miniature.  This music is intended to evoke the man of the Prairie, the folksy, lanky, gentle lover of books and teller of stories.  Quiet and a tad wistful.  A simple person, honest and authentic, in whom we sense a capacity for depth.  Good natured.  Patient.  A reconciler.

To hear Lincolnesque performed exquisitely by clarinetist Michele Gingras, violinist Kris Frankenfeld and cellist Ellen Shertzer, click here:
http://www.sowash.com/recordings/mp3/lincolnesque.mp3

To see a PDF of the score, click here:
http://www.sowash.com/recordings/mp3/lincolnesque.pdf