It’s Enough to Be Here, Now

Justin Morell says: “This is about recognizing that we all have something to offer, and though it isn’t always obvious how one person can have a great positive impact on another, it is always there—you just have to remember to look for it and recognize it. Being a parent to my son has certainly revealed many things about myself that I need to work on, and ways I can be a better parent to him. But my son has made me a better person and taught me more things than I have taught him, I’m sure.”

This last variation is a passacaglia—a form built upon a repeating bass line. The bass line is constructed from a simplified version of the first few notes of the second phrase of Loren’s theme. At first, the strings enter one section at a time in imitative counterpoint, rising to a small climax with joining winds. Like the fifth variation, the trumpet is tacet until the improvisation, which begins after this climactic moment. The guitars again define the harmony under the trumpet, while the piano is free to interact in dialog with the soloist. Strings and choir join in with short melodic gestures, in counterpoint as in the opening. These gestures begin to extend into longer melodies, eventually overtaking the trumpet solo and revealing the subject of a fugato. The fugato builds across the entire orchestra as the passacaglia figure continues underneath, finally reaching the final climax, at which point the trumpet joins in for a final improvised statement. The piece ends with a dissolution of the melodic gestures introduced at the start of the movement. The mood here is at first tense, but ultimately should feel joyful and celebratory, in the style of a grand baroque cantata.

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