The name is absent

75

Because Black Birds, Red Hills was first a song cycle, the viola melody follows
these principals closely. Indeed, in this movement and throughout the piece, the phrase
structure is derived from the text, and thus is in no way even or symmetrical.

Another formal carry-over from the vocal version is the absence of the viola line at
the beginning and end of the piece. Like the opening, the final part or coda of the
movement does not use the viola, and includes a cadenza-like passage for the clarinet that
echoes the opening piano gesture. The last chord is also exactly the same as the opening
chord, expanded an octave in each direction. Although not a tonic chord in the traditional
sense, it creates a rounded and completed feeling to the movement by returning to the
opening harmonies. This too can be interpreted through O’Keeffe’s notion of infinity, or
a reference to the ‘V-shape’ in the hills. By framing the movement with the same chord
and pianissimo dynamic, the listener has the feeling that the music extends into infinity in
both directions.

Second Movement: Black Rock

The second movement of Black Birds, Red Hills, is based on O’Keeffe’s Black
Rock with Blue Sky and White Clouds. Painted in 1972, it is the only image chosen for the
trio from the later part of O’Keeffe’s life, and the only one in the set that does not use the
Pedemal Hills as its subject. Akin to the close up views of flowers for which O’Keeffe is
famous, this image highlights an intimate perspective: looking at an ordinarily small and
overlooked object from a magnified and seemingly exalted viewpoint. The painting is
overwhelmed by a giant rock with only a hint of a cheerful cloudy sky appearing in the

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