Color Swatches - Miniatures for Piano and a Color Palatte of Instruments

Color Swatches is an album of vignettes written for my friends. These pieces areintended to be performed by musicians looking for works that are challenging in difficulty level, short in form, and rich in character. Each of these miniatures requires a pianist and a “color instrument”— a solo instrument that provides a different timbral color. I associate each of the resulting pieces with a very specific color, listed in the title. The tonal styles and textures used are the product of many different influences. Some pieces are more suited for performers of one discipline than another: the use of chord symbols in multiple of the miniatures can prove stumbling blocks for classically-trained musicians, while jazz musicians may be unfamiliar with the aleatoric improvisation notation. The difficulty level of these pieces is advanced, as some call for extended techniques on behalf of both the pianist or the soloist, and require a moderate level of preparation before performing. Though they are written as a set of eight, they work well as stand-alone pieces between larger works, or in subsets: for example, “Silver Lining”, “Lavender”, and “Flying Colors” could be performed together on a woodwind recital.