After Many Days Without Rain by Patricia Julien

After Many Days Without Rain by Patricia Julien, Aaron Larget-Caplan guitar Premiere performance Sep. 29, 2011, University of Vermont Burlington Composer’s note I wrote “After Many Days Without Rain” for Aaron Larget-Caplan’s New Lullaby Project. I was captivated by his evocative descriptions of lullabies and what they portend as they usher a listener to sleep. Aaron also was extraordinarily welcoming in his expansive ideas about what can be embraced in the musical idea of lullaby. As I began to experiment with ideas for this work, I knew I wanted to write a twelve-tone lullaby in 5/4 meter. I think, though, that neither feature is particularly evident when hearing this work. The lilting nature of 5/4 is brought to the surface in just a few places, and my overall approach to serial procedures permits immediate repetition of not just single pitch classes but small cells of notes, in order. My inspiration for this piece is connected to how physical sleep can be, especially intensified when one need