Sea Change (2009/2012)

for violin, clarinet, and piano (and spoken voice)
7 minute

Text by Genevieve Taggard

Premiere Info: Performed by the Verdehr Trio

Program Notes

Sea-change is a poetic term meaning a striking change or a gradual transformation in which the form is retained but the substance is replaced. The expression is Shakespeare's, taken from the song in The Tempest, when Ariel sings about transformation brought about by the sea. Commissioned and premiered by Verdehr Trio, this work has been performed throughout the world and will be recorded for their new “American” CD. The work also represents a “sea-change” in my compositional work in its intentionally simple and direct expression embodying both striking change and gradual transformation. The work is dedicated to my daughter, Annika Dries, 2012 Olympic Gold-medalist in Water Polo and the many Sea-Changes her life has endured.

This work is from a series of pieces called " . . . from the edges of the earth" based on images, texts of sea, sea nymphs and sirens involving instrumentalists and spoken voice. The other works from this collection are: The Singing of the Waves, for three flutes, piano and spoken voice, commissioned and premiered by Jane Rigler, Anne LaBerge, John Fonville, flutists and Lisa Moore, pianist/spoken voice and The Living Sea for flute, electronics and film commissioned by Claire Chase, flutist, International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) with IMAX filmmaker Greg MacGillivray for Laguna Beach Music Festival and a version for piano trio for Trio Solisti and The Singing of the Waves: Neried’s Lyre for solo voice, awarded VOX NOVUS award and Neried’s Lyre for solo flute and electronics with Jane Rigler, flutist.


  • You are no more, but sunken in a sea
    Sheer into dream, ten thousand leagues, you fell;
    And now you lie green-golden, while a bell
    Swings with the tide, my heart; and all is well
    Till I look down, and wavering, the spell--
    Your loveliness--returns. There in the sea,
    Where you lie amber-pale and coral-cool,
    You are most loved, most lost, most beautiful.

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