Kyle Gann: But Even So
(2022)
for piano
A few years ago I became intrigued by dissonant chords in the 18th- and 19th-century repertoire: chords that hadn't yet resolved, tonic/dominant compressions, chords with chromatic passing tones frozen in the midst of passing, and so on. Because each chord embodied a contradiction, I thought of assembling them into a piece called But Even So, which is the title of a book of picture-poems by the great American poet Kenneth Patchen, from whose evocative words I have often borrowed titles. I decided not to write a piece with only chords, and filed them away. Then I got an offer to write a chamber piece for the new-music ensemble conductor Colin Roshak was putting together at Bard College where I teach, and I started writing it on an inspiration. Mid-piece it occurred to me that those chords, coming just after the climax, near the end of the argument, so to speak, would provide a thoughtful "but even so" moment, dwelling on the last one in a moment of meditation - a kind of putting the entire rest of the piece in a different perspective. (So those chords are actually tiny quotations from the classical literature.) I'm grateful to Colin for his faith and expertise, and the piece is dedicated to him.
- Kyle Gann
Duration: 14 minutes
World premiere: November 6, 2022 by Colin Roshak and the Bard Sinfonietta at Bard College
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