Audio Sample
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Performance by Jeanell Carrigan from the CD little variation |
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CD
A little variation / Jeanell Carrigan, piano.
Library shelf no. CD 2427 [Available for loan]
$31.82
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Score
Mood variations : for solo piano / Michael Hannan.
Library shelf no. 786.2/HAN 8 [Not for loan]
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We expect this item to be back in stock and available for purchase on 13 Jul 2026.
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Work Overview
Mood Variations is a three-movement piece with each
movement constituting a different mood. There are some
similarities between the construction of the first two movements,
but the third is quite contrasting in its approach.
Movement I uses repetitive devices to conjure up a wistful but
also somewhat ecstatic mood. It has an ABA form with similar
material used in both A and B sections. In the first A Section a
nine-note left-hand ostinato outlining a three-tone chord is used
to accompany a four-bar melody based on a pentatonic scale {E
flat, F flat, G flat, A flat, B flat}. The pitch sequence of this
melody is repeated four times using slightly different rhythms
each time. In the B section one of the tones of the four-tone
ostinato is changed and the melodic material is freer in
construction. Two tones {C flat & D flat} are added to the
pentatonic scale. The third section is a repeat of the first
section.
Movement II uses the low end of the piano to create a dark
mysterious even oppressive mood. Like Movement I it uses
left-hand ostinati to accompany the right-hand melodic material.
The difference is that in this movement the one-bar patterns
change slightly after every fourth bar and the melodic material
is through-composed. The melody has a cross-rhythmic relationship
to the ostinato and it loosely develops the chromatic motif {A
flat, B flat, B natural, A natural} stated at the outset.
Movement III demonstrates a playful mood in its polytonal
juxtapositions of ideas derived from Nicolas Slonimsky's
Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, a book which has
influenced a generation of jazz improvisers when John Coltrane
stressed its importance. The movement offers a mind-bending
challenge to performers used to playing normal scales with
standard fingering.
Work Details
Year: 1991
Instrumentation: Piano.
Duration: 4 min.
Difficulty: Medium — AMEB Grade 7
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Variations
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