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The viola again carries the melody throughout the movement with a simple tune
that spans less than an octave and pulls gently against the 6/8 time signature as shown in
Example 2.8.
Example 2.8: Black Birds, Red Hills, Third mvt., mm. 3-7, (viola only)
If the roles of the viola and clarinet in the previous two movements were
independent, here they are united. In this movement, Larsen sees the clarinet as the
“grounding” instrument, and when she uses the instruments in octaves, she keeps the
clarinet in the lower octave as shown in Example 2.9.
Example 2.9: Black Birds, Red Hills, Third mvt., mm. 16-18, unification of viola and
clarinet
The mood is unchanging throughout, and the only other hint of text painting is the
bass line of the clarinet that builds upwards then comes away from the main climax of the
piece symbolizing the ‘V’ shape of the hills in Red Hills and Sky, shown in Example
2.10.
Example 2.10: Black Birds, Red Hills, Third mvt., mm 23-29, (clarinet only)
