Elena Kats-Chernin

Blue Silence

Composer's note: 'This piece (originally for cello and piano) was written for an exhibition devoted to artists suffering schizophrenia in 2006. At the base of the piece is a 4-chord progression, very simple and minimal. A person with schizophrenia hears voices, which can be very disturbing; there is a yearning for silence. I wrote this work so that my son Alex who suffers from the illness can listen to calmness, meditation. It's called Blue Silence because blue is sometimes associated with healing. In the 2009 arrangement for clarinet, cello and piano, there is a lot of interplay and echo between the single line instruments, i. e. they are not playing a lot together, rather one after the other. ' Elena Kats-Chernin