Glenn Stallcop

Violin, Viola, and Double Bass

Composer's Note:

In the mid-1980’s, my music experienced a real softening. I had begun raising my family, I was involved running the Arizona Composers Forum, and the Phoenix Symphony had gone to full-time status. It was a fairly happy time in my life. I had stopped composing at the keyboard, or improvising at the keyboard, in fact, I didn’t even own a keyboard between 1984 and 1991.

My music, which was modal to begin with took on an almost ecclesiastical quality. The homogeneous textures, crossing lines, and rather neutral rhythms add to this sensation. I call it my Neo-Renaissance period. I also extended the homogeneity to the structure, delineating clearly only the large scale structure and concentrating the inner workings on the idea of continuous flow. This causes the music to be experienced in waves. The ocean has always provided me with inspiration, dating back to my days growing up in the Pacific Northwest.

This Trio was written in the summer of 1985, and was first performed at a concert of the Arizona Composers Forum in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1987. The performers were Clarence Shaw, violin, William Cummings, viola, and the composer on the double bass.

New Jan. 2025 edition of 1985 original.