blood on the pavement 1984 (2018) for clarinet (db. bass clarinet), piano, violin, viola, and cello

Francis Bacon’s Blood on the Pavement

blood on the pavement 1984 is inspired by Francis Bacon’s painting of the same name. While reading David Sylvesters The Brutality of Fact: Interviews with Francis Bacon, I was struck by Bacon’s creativity, specifically how he would manipulate paints with rags, and brushes with metal teeth to get the image he wanted. I especially found his triptychs beautiful and how lifelike the works work.

However, I ended up writing a piece that was inspired not by the triptychs but by one of his few landscape paintings. Despite being a standalone piece, I felt like I could see his typical triptych structure in it. The simplicity of the work, combined with knowing his output, makes me wonder: what happeneda in this space that would leave such a mark on the pavement?

Blood on the Pavement 1984 was selected by NAT28 for their 2019 composer’s call for scores, and premiered on Feb. 9th 2019.

parts and score can be purchased here