Winter in Provo, UT, is lovely. I love to watch large, fluffy snowflakes slowly descend from the sky. As I walked around campus between classes, a calm winter melody came to my mind. I imagined a wind quintet depicting this lovely winter scene, and it would begin with the clarinet playing my new theme. As soon as I had the beginnings of a new piece, I went on Finale and wrote the first page and a half. I wasn't quite sure what to do next, but I did want to give the impression of a cool, polyphonic renaissance chant. That’s why I give this wind quintet the slightly clever title of “Winter Winds: A Snow Chant.”
The faster, polyphonic theme that begins with the flute and oboe (after the clarinet solo) is actually a phrase recycled from “I Know Where The Sun Hides.” I enjoy taking old themes and modifying them to fit new settings. The recycled phrase actually works quite well with the slow clarinet theme, since the two themes have similar melodic contours. I played with that a bit near the end when I have the quintet play both themes at once. The overall feeling of the piece is meant to invoke a mental picture of a beautiful snowy day, which you might see while standing alone in a wooded area. I had hoped this piece would be longer and turn out a bit better, but I simply ran out of ideas for the piece. I could always come back to it later. In any case, I decided to tie up all the loose ends by ending the piece the same way I started it.
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