The Palm at the End - WW5/PN

The Palm at the End
for woodwind quintet and piano
by Scott Eyerly - American composer

Written for Hexagon, 1992.

"Walking in the southern California desert early one morning, I was struck by the image of a lone, distant palm tree, backlit by the rising sun. It seemed to symbolize a beautiful but remote goal, and brought to mind Wallace Stevens' poem 'Of Mere Being' with its opening line 'The palm at the end of the mind...'
 
The sextet is in three movements. After an introduction (markedsostenuto) suggested by my desert walk, the first movement is brisk. The lyrical middle movement begins with winds alone, then the piano enters (marked magico), its music conceived while the sky turned purple at the edges and a shower sped across the desert. The third movement, written back in New York, is 'winter music' inspired by a driving snow storm. Near the end, the overarching 'palm' theme is heard - or glimpsed - one last time..."