within you

for clarinet, cello and piano

 
 

About the work:

The creative process is sacred. It is an altered state filled with the euphoria of revelations; a place of infinite potential made buoyant by the irrelevancy of time. However, it can feel elusive. Engaging in a creative act does not guarantee transcendence. Self-doubt and fear will guard against entry into this realm. One must learn to be patient and find a place of stillness to summon the courage to be vulnerable. The curious thing is that this altered state of creativity resides in the same place within all of us. It is at the center of our humanity, our divine core – the light of love. You must be vulnerable to access it and embrace it. Composing music necessitates vulnerability, to embrace love and share it with the world.

 I have come to realize that my life has been filled with visions, but I have always been frightened to openly acknowledge them. Within You is an expression of vulnerability – my restored courage nurtured by the extraordinary love of my wife Jill. Through her I have found the strength to let the light of love within me shine brightly. Within You is a diary of musical visions, a dialogue with spirits, and an expression of the dynamic emotional temperature of the ecstatic realm of creation – the realm that is within you.

Within You was composed for my dear friend Renée Briggs and is dedicated to my most beloved wife, Jill Abbinanti-Burke in celebration of our 1st anniversary, September 4, 2022.

 
“The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen.”
— Rumi
 
 
“Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the soul of the world, and it will one day return there.”
— Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
 

instrumentation

  • Clarinet in A

  • Cello

  • Piano

Evocation: A Moment of Stillness • First Vision: The Voice Within • Second Vision: The Light Within • Third Vision: Transformation • Fourth Vision: Radiance • Fifth Vision: Buoyancy • Sixth Vision: Epiphanies — Reflection • Seventh Vision: Transcendence

The work is about 23 minutes in duration

“Everything in the universe is within you.”
— Rumi
“The kingdom of God is within you.”
— Luke 17:21