The Trident Chamber Ensemble at Arts Alive! in Falmouth, Massachusetts performed Jenni Brandon’s “Sea Quartet”. The performance took place on the Falmouth Library Lawn at 11:00 AM on June 18, 2022. The Trident Chamber Ensemble plays chamber music for piano and reed trio (oboe, clarinet, and bassoon), offering traditional classical music through modern pieces, including works by Mendelssohn, Tomasi, Zemlinsky, Ibert, Jenni Brandon, and Jungmann. Melanie Hayn, of the Trident Chamber Ensemble said to Jenni “your composition (Sea Quartet) was the audience’s favorite”.

Sea Quartet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and piano was inspired by the beautiful ocean beside which we live as well as the many trips I have taken to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. This magical place brings to us the beauty of the sea, from the creatures that call it home to the delicate coral reefs and fragile ecosystems that depend on the balance of the sea for their survival.

This piece uses each of the instruments to tell the story of the sea in various sections, from the playful waves to a “watery waltz”; from the “gentle pulse of the wave,” to the clarinet’s “moonlight” solo. The relative calmness of the sea finally begins to break as the waves move faster and faster, creating a “wild, frothy frenzy” at the end of the piece. At this point the instruments joyfully crash over one another, and we are left with the feeling of the power and excitement of the sea.

Commissioned by the L.A. Musical Salon as part of my composer residency with the Vientos Trio during 2008-2009 and written specifically for a premiere at the L.A. Musical Salon with Rose Chen on March 7, 2009, I believe that a quote from the poem The Secret of the Sea by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gives a wonderful impression of what this piece is truly all about:

“Till my soul is full of longing

For the secret of the sea,

And the heart of the great ocean

Sends a thrilling pulse through me.”

“Sea Quartet” is available for purchase on Jenni’s website at Sea Quartet – oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano sheet music (jennibrandon.com)