Rhapsody No. 1 (2014)

Written for Jessie Montgomery’s debut album, Strum: Music for Strings
Instrumentation: solo violin
Premiere: June, 2014, Jessie Montgomery, violin, Cornelia Street Cafe, NYC

Duration - 7 minutes

PROGRAM NOTE

This work for solo violin is the first Rhapsody in a series that will be written for six different instruments. The collection of six solo works pays homage to the tradition of J.S. Bach’s solo violin Sonatas and Partitas, his Suites for solo cello and the six solo violin Sonatas of Eugène Ysaÿe. In paying tribute to this archetypal tradition, I have chosen to elaborate by writing for a variety of solo voices across instrument families—violin, viola, flute, bassoon, and double bass—so that the final Rhapsody in the cycle is a five part chamber work for all of the instruments in the collection. This piece represents my excitement for collaboration, as each solo work is written in collaboration with the premiere performer, and my love for chamber music as a staple in my current output.

— Jessie Montgomery