INNER VOICES

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Composed: 2026
Premiere:  Cleveland Chamber Symphony, April 19, 2026
Duration:  11 minutes
Instrumentation: flute, voice, violin, cello, trombone, piano

Inner Voices I. Lost
Inner Voices II. Deserted Delphi Veiled in Mist

PROGRAM NOTES

I.  Lost
II.  Deserted Delphi Veiled in Mist

Scored for flute, soprano, violin, cello and piano, Inner Voices is a personal piece exploring inner emotions through musical expression. Inner Voices also explores sounds and colors in which the voice is used as an instrument in the ensemble instead of as a solo part.  Each instrument, including the voice, has solo moments and melodies.  But at times, the voice blends with the other instruments to become part of a supporting sonority.  Sometimes special attention is given to the colors of the female voice mixed with the trombone, and sometimes to interesting ways that trombone or voice can relate to flute, strings and piano.  Through this medium, the first movement portrays inner feelings of anger, desperation and sadness. The second movement reflects deep memories of the ancient Greek city of Delphi shrouded in thick layers of mist.

REVIEWS

“‘Inner Voices', for soprano and mixed ensemble, casts the voice as a textural thread among the instruments as Brouwer focuses in on the quieter currents of anger, loss, and memory. Soprano Lara Troyer captured the listener’s attention, whether she dynamically rose above the ensemble or disappeared into it. The unlikely pairing of voice and trombone proved apt: at times the two moved together in a spare alignment, at others with a rough, brassy edge. The second movement, with its reference to Delphi “veiled in mist,” unfolds in slow, suspended gestures, as if memory — grasped imperfectly and open to revision — were the subject.” - Kevin McLaughlin, ClevelandClassical, 2026