Paul Hembree (b. 1982)
Jökulhlaup (2007) (Glacial Outburst Flood)
for Solo Piano Jökulhlaup is the Icelandic term for a destructive natural phenomenon common on that island – a sudden, cataclysmic flood that follows a volcanic eruption under a glacier. English-speaking scientists have adopted the term for use describing any glacial outburst flood, such as the Missoula Lake flood, which destroyed all of what is now Eastern Washington state at the end of the last ice-age. I choose Jökulhlaup for the title of this piece because the idea of such an event best fits the progression of moods evoked during the piece. The lengthy introduction is a frozen landscape of jagged, dissonant gestures, interrupted by increasingly violent, ascending explosions of sound. Following the introduction is a short, unsettling walk through what might be a rural village, encrusted in ice and frozen in time. The melodic material in this section is inspired by tonality, but has been twisted by the icy, atonal harmonic language of the introduction. The last half of the piece could be construed as the gradual melting of the glacier by the volcanic eruption. Throughout this half, the energy of the piece gradually builds by acceleration and dynamic intensification. In the final section, we hear the frozen chunks of atonal material from the introduction, cascading over one another in a overwhelming inundation of sound.
Total duration: circa 5’00”
Cover photograph by Andreas Tille. A high resolution image file is available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Breidamerkurjoekull.jpg, released under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1.
JĂśkulhlaup (Glacial Outburst Flood)
= 60; Timeless Frozen, yet ready to explode
Piano
3"
4"
f
p
pp
mf
3"
3"
4"
mf
mp
una corda
sf
sf
1"
sf
1"
pp
mf tre corde
mp
3"
mp
p tre corde
2"
3"
f
mf una corda
1"
Paul Hembree (b. 1982)
una corda
tre corde
una corda
Copyright Š 2007 Paul Hembree Intermedia (ASCAP)
1"
2"
mf
p
tre corde
una corda
2
5"
3"
4"
ff
mp
p tre corde
mf
una corda
p
sff
5"
1"
p
sff
2"
1"
p
p tre corde
tre corde
una corda
5"
4"
fff
p una corda
p una corda
tre corde
4"
mf
sff 2"
pp tre corde
3
Cataclysmic!
mf
sf
1"
9"
sf
ffff
mp una corda
tre corde
= 40; With Rubato Brittle, antique 1
pp
mp
p
ppp
mf
mp
pp
una corda
= 60; Pensive, heating up molto accel. 6
ppp
mp
pp
pp
ppp
p
pp
mp
4
= 112; Melting, flowing accel. poco a poco
13
mp
pp
ppp tre corde ( = 118 ) 19
p
p
mp
pp
( = 136 ) 26
pp cresc. poco a poco
ppp cresc. poco a poco
(p)
( pp )
5
Breaking away ( = 152 ) 32
(cresc.)
(cresc.)
( mp )
mf
(p)
mp
( = 158 )
( = 166 )
40
cresc.
(f)
cresc.
48
( mf )
Unleashed
ff f
f
mf
ff
f
f
6
53
f
ff
f
mf
59
f
ff
f
f
mf
65
f
f
mf
ff
7
= 188 accel. poco a poco
70
mp
Closing in
p
cresc. poco a poco
pp cresc. poco a poco
f
75
( mp )
( mf )
(p)
( mp )
81
(f)
( ff )
( mf )
(f)
8
Explosive, catastrophic = 196 87
fff
ff ff
f
91
ff
f
f
95
ff
9
98
fff
f
102
ff
106
ff
fff
10
110
f
mf
113
ff
116 5"
fff
ffff
total dur. ca. 5'00"