About the Music

We thank the composer for sharing this program note about his Sombras Ágeis for solo bass clarinet:

Composed in April 2026, this short work for solo bass clarinet is a study in contrasts, exploring the dual nature of an instrument often characterized by its “subterranean” depths and its surprising, bird-like agility.

The piece opens in a state of quietude, utilizing the warm, lyrical voice of the instrument’s middle register. This stillness is soon= interrupted by a “playful” and energetic middle section, where the bass clarinet’s capacity for rapid-fire articulation and wide-interval leaps is put on full display. As the work reaches its climax, the performer is challenged with virtuosic, high-speed runs that eventually dissolve into a series of diminishing echoes. The work concludes where it began—in shadow—as the music descends into the instrument’s lowest reaches, fading into a final, hushed breath.

Solo score: 5 pages, loose leaf. Extended-range instruent NOT required.

Hard Copy Edition

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About the Composer

Joseph Hallman is a Philadelphian composer who has worked with some of today's most talented musicians and artists on concert programs both nationally and internationally.

Hallman’s series of chamber concerti were composed for members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra. Akin to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Hindemith's Kammermusik, these pieces have won acclaim for their wit and strength.

Among his most prominent collaborations, Hallman has composed multiple concerti and chamber and solo works for the internationally acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein, winner of a 2011 MacArthur “Genius” Grant. The live premiere recording of The St. Petersburg Concerto is available on iTunes and all other major digital distributors.

Hallman’s work with poets, in particular Jessica Hornik and Vermont Poet Laureate Sydney Lea, has inspired strong relationships and works for voices and chamber ensembles. The Inscape Chamber Music Project, on the Sono Luminos label, recorded and released Three Poems of Jessica Hornik and imagined landscapes: six Lovecraftian elsewheres, which was then nominated for a Grammy award.

Hallman continues to write prolifically for chamber musicians and orchestras across the country and world.