The name is absent

85

through the bird’s perspective.”⁶⁴ However, though she was quick to think of the viola as
the bird, she seemed less convinced as she thought about it: “The viola is definitely the
bird.. .well, actually the soaring, it’s not really the bird, there’s no flapping.”⁶⁵ Although
it seems that in principal Larsen wants the listener to have the feeling of flying, she is in
fact very clear about the image she has in mind. This conflicted reaction well reflects
Larsen’s ambiguous feelings on these issues.

After the introduction Ofbird-Iike trills in the clarinet, shown in Example 2.13, the
viola might well represent the soaring of the bird with its long legato phrases in Example
2.14, despite the lack of “flapping.”

Example 2.13: Black Birds, Red Hills, Fourth mvt., mm. 1-5 (clarinet only)

Example 2.14: Black Birds, Red Hills, Fourth mvt., mm. 8-15 (viola only)

As in the earlier movements, Larsen again uses the clarinet in an ‘air-like’ manner. In
Example 2.15, the clarinet, marked floating, mimics the arpeggiated movement of the
piano:

64

Larsen, interview, 8/2008.

⁶⁵ Ibid.

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