Trio Semplice

Joseph Phibbs

Level:

Piece length: 4' 30"
Scored for: Piano, Violin, Cello

Trio Semplice was written for and is dedicated to the Schubert Ensemble, as part of their innovative ‘Chamber Music 2000’ series. My principal aim in writing this piece was to explore-on a modest scale- the whole concept of musical simplicity: short clearly presented ideas, often involving repetition, rhythmic regularity, and a high degree of textural transparency, scored for a small, conventional chamber group. This type of simplicity is more technical than psychological however – although the work will hopefully still provide a number of challenges in performance for each of the three players.

The work has three short movements: a slow opening movement, featuring a gently rising dialogue between the violin and piano; a flowing central movement, with a flexible tempo marking, contrasting a persistent figure in the violin with rapid figuration in the piano, finally giving way to a slower cello passage; and a rapid, almost mechanical final movement, with both cello and violin playing pizzicato.

Joseph Phibbs