Charles Mason
Solace
Short instrumentation: 3 3 3 3 - 4 2 3 1, timp, perc(5), hp, pno, str
Duration: 15'
Instrumentation details:
piccolo
1st flute
2nd flute
1st oboe
cor anglais
2nd oboe
bass clarinet in Bb
1st clarinet in Bb
2nd clarinet in Bb
1st bassoon
contrabassoon
2nd bassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in C
2nd trumpet in C
1st trombone
bass trombone
2nd trombone
tuba
timpani
1st percussion
2nd percussion
3rd percussion
4th percussion
5th percussion
harp
piano
violin I (16 players)
violin II (14 players)
viola
violoncello (10 players)
double bass (8 players)
Solace
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Work introduction
Solace was composed at the request of Maestro Gerard Schwarz in the summer of 2022 while I was in Basel, Switzerland. As I was composing, every noon, bells would ring out from the nearby churches. These seemed to capture two strong feelings I was having at the time: Celebratory and more importantly, a feeling of Solace. One reason the bells brought about a feeling of solace was that I was aware that people all over that area, France, Switzerland and Germany were hearing the same thing I was AND people for centuries have been hearing those bells. This sense of time was different than what I normally experience living in Miami.