for flute and guitar
Duration: 15 minutes
Spring Verses is a set of six Galliards and Pavanes commissioned by the wonderful guitarist,
Nicolò Spera, for guitar and flute. Both Renaissance dance forms of the Galliard and Pavane are based on characteristic rhythms which are loosely threaded throughout the movements of my piece- the two pavanes with a stately half-quarter-quarter processional rhythm, and the four galliards often with a triple meter feel combining even and dotted rhythms in pattern. I’ve always been strongly drawn to Renaissance dance with its variety of affects, and indeed to
Renaissance music in general, especially in its modal harmonic orientation.
I thought of this suite as a kind of divertimento of six contrasting character pieces, with each movement lasting only two or three minutes. Spring Verses is dedicated to marvelous poet, Melissa Studdard. The second pavane is in memory of Henry, Melissa’s cat who died during the pandemic, and was written as a kind of consolation and reflective space for her.
—Christopher Theofanidis
Biography