Wai-te-ata Music Press

The word ‘claro’ (meaning ‘light’ or ‘clear’) suggests a visual, aural and, perhaps, psychological state of transparency, lightness and clarity.

This state is depicted sonically by the opening texture of the work: a delicate series of high-pitched ‘points’ that outline the main pitch >material. It is played by pizzicato strings, piano, harp, crotales, vibraphone and glockenspiel, all attack-decay instruments with no natural sustain. Out of this pointillistic texture, sustained lines and phrases begin to emerge, interact, and play off one another. Gradually they gather strength, coalescing into more assertive and fully formed thematic ideas as the music accumulates energy.

There is a constant unresolved play of lines and forms throughout, stemming from a continual permutational re-ordering of music pitches inspired by the technique of ‘change ringing’, and its resultant tintinnabulation, a wonderful word coined by Edgar Allan Poe to describe the lingering resonance of a bell after it has been struck. The penultimate section of the piece features clangorous, metallic textures and full orchestration as the music’s momentum builds. It eventually dissipates, however, into a closing section of quiet ‘chimes’ that briefly recalls the opening.

Claro was commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for its 2015 season, and the premiere was conducted by Christian Lindberg.