Tower-Noon Dance (S)-P/V/B/M/FL/CL/VN/VC/PN

Noon Dance is a chamber work for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, and piano by American composer Joan Tower (b. 1938), composed in 1982. The piece was commissioned by Collage with support from the Massachusetts State Arts Council and is dedicated to that ensemble. In Tower's own words, the title connects the work to an earlier piece, Breakfast Rhythms (1974), which shares the same instrumentation. The word "dance" in the title reflects Tower's conception of chamber music performance itself as a kind of choreography, where players follow, lead, blend, and negotiate energy and pacing with one another throughout the piece. Dance-type rhythms including square dance and folk dance motifs appear, but they serve that larger metaphor rather than defining the character of the work.

The piece combines various solo sections with dialogues between instruments, creating a wide range of musical color and texture. This edition is the chamber music study score. A score and parts edition is also available separately.

Instrumentation

• Flute
• Clarinet
• Violin
• Cello
• Percussion
• Piano