Ben Tibbetts Studio: Piano Performances and Original Music

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Club Sonata for flute and piano

Listen with sheet music:
Movement I. Andante
Movement II. Vivace
Movement III. Andante
Movement IV. Fast Swing
(or download mp4)

Watch the live performance:
Movement I. Andante (or download mp3)
Movement II. Vivace (or download mp3)
Movement III. Andante (or download mp3)
Movement IV. Fast Swing (or download mp3)

A PDF of the Club Sonata sheet music is available to regular subscribers, or via a one-time donation (just contact me for details).

In 2020, Samantha Levreault commissioned me to write a flute sonata. I worked on it from home when the pandemic hit. The result was Club Sonata, a huge piece in four movements.

This was a big project for both of us. It was difficult, jazz- and dance-inspired music that pushed our abilities. When it was done, we commissioned an artist (Janina Putzker, the creator of Smosh Mosh) to help produce a score that was colorful and beautiful. Then we premiered it on Sam's master's recital.

I can't convey how satisfying this was. I'm very proud of this music. It was a privilege to perform it with Sam (on my birthday, no less). And it went well. You can watch the recital via YouTube or by downloading the video file.

Program Notes

I composed Club Sonata in the spring of 2020, a season defined by a pandemic which claimed the lives of millions and compelled us to isolate from each other.

Club Sonata is a both a product of this time and a memory of an earlier one. It was partly inspired by tracks in dance clubs, before the virus made such physical contact impossible. I originally thought it would celebrate community and camaraderie. Halfway through composing it, I found those ideas had become nostalgic.

The first movement is Prokofiev-esque. It sounds like a neo-Classical Sonata--capital C, capital S. It follows sonata-allegro form. The counterpoint is lapidary and carefully written. I think of this material as one part dark and two parts comical. It's sinister, but in a way that's hard to take seriously, like a Marvel villain.

In the second movement, the beginning and ending sections are whimsical and lively. It bounces and bubbles. The flute and piano play off of each other. In the middle passage, however, the texture opens up, and the feeling is much more languid and lyrical. Think film noir, or cocktail music...or maybe that similar part in the Poulenc Oboe Sonata, which might have been an unconscious influence (sorry, Francis).

Movement three is melancholic. It expresses wistfulness, angst, and confusion. The harmonies meander through strange places without a resolution. To me, this movement is about the blues--not the music but the emotion. It's lying in bed at two in the morning and wondering why you did it, or why you didn't do it, or why you continue to do it (only you know what "it" is, dear reader).

And the fourth movement is pure fun. This is the part that reminds me of the World War II dance club in Northampton, called "The Deuce". In my memory the music there is loud, probably too loud, but who cares? The lights are turned down. The colors are turned up. You're dancing. Your eyes are closed. You are not concerned about anything.

Since I wrote this music, things have changed for the better. The world has learned to live with COVID-19. An innovative RNA vaccine has been developed and made widely available. On the other hand, public trust in our institutions has been eroded by misinformation and deepening social divisions.

Someday, I hope to live in a society I don't worry about. Maybe in that sense the fourth movement could be viewed as aspirational. Maybe it looks forward to a more carefree time, some future without the twin threats of social disintegration and biological destruction. Or maybe it's nothing more complex than the feeling of everything being more or less good enough. There aren't any emergencies. You have an evening off and you go dancing, and your most pressing concern is raising your hands in the air without spilling your drink.

Ben
April 2, 2022

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