Faye-Ellen Silverman
Trial Balance
Year: 1999
Duration (in minutes): 6'39;
Difficulty: High (professional)
Category: solo instrument other than piano, solo string instrument
Instruments: contrabass
Publisher: Subito Music Corporation
Description:
In financial accounting, a trial balance is proof that a ledger, with its debits and credits, is in balance. The idea of balancing opposites is the basis of this piece. Thus the high harmonic opening with intervals of a fourth are balanced off by a muted passage of low notes based on the interval of a second. These opposites are brought together, then a new set of opposites begins, one contrasting pizzicato and arco (bowed) passages. The pizzicato section is faster and playful, while the arco that follows is more lyrical and colored with double stops. Instead of a merger following the passage, the merger occurs this time between the contrasting passages. The pizzicato passage is taken over by the arco passage as the latter interrupts the former with the same interval of a second. The lyrical section is followed by a return to the opening harmonics and a merger of techniques and intervals – high/low, pizzicato/arco, fourths/seconds – as the whole work re-establishes its balance. Throughout the composition, special attention is paid to the unique colorings of sound available on the double bass. This is signaled from the start, where high harmonics are used – a sound not typically associated with the double bass by those whose knowledge of the instrument derives from the orchestral repertoire.