Sweet Feet - Clarinet Unaccompanied

Karl Weick is fond of asking, "How can I know who I am until I see what I do? How can I know what I value until I see where I walk?" The title, Sweet Feet is inspired by my baby daughter Alaina at age one. She began walking at nine months and she was running by the time I wrote this near her first birthday. The piece is a reflection on an experience of growth, exploration, and excitement of starting something new (a new life, in this case). The music is through-composed but returns several times to the opening theme, which begins as gentle, innocent, and introverted. The theme grows more insistent and bold in its repetitions (as Alaina's personality grew more apparent over time). In the score, descriptive words--First steps, Taking Off, Climbing, and Exploring--are intended to aid the performer in realizing the musical intention. The music ends with a gradual winding down of energy and a general relaxation of the main theme's final appearance.

-- Theresa Martin