Sonata

This Sonata for Flute and Piano by Emerson Eads is in four movements: Preface, Edna, Meditation, and Psalm. From the composer: 'This sonata opens with a Preface employing two theme areas—one in an oddly subdivided four, and the other in a lyrical 7/8. Some of these themes are transformed and appear later in the Epilogue. The following movement, "Edna," was written in homage to Edna St. Vincent Millay and her poem "The Concert." This section is through-composed, and uses the poem's structure and words of Musical inspiration- the flute's lines expressing the words, the pianist acting as accompanist to a "singer." You could literally read the poem whilst listening to theflute's lines and imagine the flute singing the words. Edna is followed by a tranquil Meditation. The final movement, Psalm (or Epilogue), seeks to find closure to The Concert. Edna tells us at the end of The Concert, that "I will come back to you, I swear I will; And you will know me still. I shall be only a little taller, Than when I went." So the final movement tells the story of the return. Both flute and pianist attempt to find their way, sometimes losing the tonality of the other, but eventually "singing" together the secondary theme.'