The Cowboy and the Rattlesnake

Description

Violin — This work was commissioned for the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, to be held in Austin, Texas in March of 2014.xa0xa0 It was suggested to me that I incorporate something of local color (either “Texan” or “American”) to commemorate the fact that this year’s competition is being held here, so I began by researching cowboy songs.xa0 I ultimately settled on two—“The Dying Cowboy” and “Rattlesnake”—and made the piece a two-part (slow-fast) composition.xa0 The first part consists of three “verses” of “The Dying Cowboy”, beginning simply and purely and ending with multiple stops, fingered tremolos, and virtuosic effects.xa0 It leads directly into a continuously varied rendition of “Rattlesnake”, a perpetual motion song about getting away from the varmint.xa0 The music is one long accelerando, with flashes of bravura and Paganini-like flourishes of technique. When Dan Welcher was commissioned to create a solo work for the 2014 Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, it was suggested that he incorporate some local color – either Texan or American to commemorate the year’s competition being held in Austin. Welcher found the traditional songs The Dying Cowboy and Rattlesnake, and made a two-part (slow-fast) composition. The first section consists of three “verses” of The Dying Cowboy, beginning simply and ending with virtuosic effects. This leads directly into a continuously varied rendition of Rattlesnake, a perpetual motion song about getting away from the varmint. The music is one long accelerando, with flashes of bravura and Paganini-like flourishes.