Cinnabar

"Cinnabar Concerto" for Viola and Chamber Orchestra (strings, percussion, and piano doubling celeste) was commissioned by the violist Karen Elaine with the aid of a grant from the National Association of Negro Musicians. The first movement, called "Cinnabar" by itself, was premiered in a version for viola and piano by Karen Elaine and the composer at the 19th International Viola Congress in Ithaca, NY (June, 1991). Now rescored for viola and chamber orchestra, the complete concerto includes two additional movements (written in January and February, 1993) lasting in all about fifteen minutes. Cinnabar is the principal ore of mercury, a reddish brown mineral with flashes of quicksilver; also a red resinous juice from an East Indian tree called "Dragon?s-blood" ? all of which suggested musical images to the composer. The three movements ? some with mercurial tempo changes ? begin "Slow"; "Slow but with Tension"; and "Lively".