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An Outward Spiral

Jason Brauer – An Outward SpiralJason Brauer
00:00 / 04:33

Instrumentation

Clarinet & piano
4 minutes

Duration

2022

Year of composition

Program Note

An Outward Spiral reflects the feeling of a mental health crisis in which a small idea, be it an intrusive thought, a fatal flaw, or a horrifying truth about the world, spirals out of control and leaves one feeling hopeless. The piece opens with a search for meaning, or “call into the void,” as the clarinet plays a four-note motif into the piano strings. The piano soon harmonizes this motif in a contemplative state representing the calm before the storm. Finally, the theme is transformed into mixed-meter, Stravinskian piano chords in the first of two extended accerlandi representing the spiraling. The first spiral broadens to encompass the extreme ranges of both instruments before suddenly dissipating into a snarky variation of the motif. Finally, the second spiral builds to the piece’s climax and bursts into a single cacophonous chord. The piece’s ending—a brief return to the void theme—may seem to represent oblivion, but it is not my intention to indicate hopelessness. On the contrary, I have often found that these crises resolve themselves in an instant, and meaning is revealed in a single moment of clarity.

Performance History

An Outward Spiral was premiered by Sergio Coelho, clarinet, and Brendan White, piano, at Sunset ChamberFest, Glendale, CA, July 2022.

Last updated January 2, 2025. Copyright ©2025 by Jason Brauer. All rights reserved.

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