For Celine (1995) was composed for my niece. It’s an early microcosm of my work. Happy birthday, Celine!
The slow opening section is based on a rising and falling figure in stacked fifths, layered in parallel sixths, and layered again in close canon with the second part a dotted quarter behind the first. Zigzag bass notes in this section return at the end.
The fast middle section presents a rhythmic variation of the stacked-fifth figure again in canon, this time with the second part two quarter notes behind the first, in a sequence that moves around the circle of fifths in A-flat major.
The final section includes short variations on earlier material. The circle of fifths bassline from the fast section returns in diminution as a right-hand melodic pattern, on top of the zigzag bassline from the beginning in the left hand.
Audio: post-premiere performance by Adam Sherkin, Artists in Conversation, Arraymusic, Toronto, November 2024
Image: Adam Sherkin rehearsing for the premiere at Arts & Letters Club, Toronto, November 2024
Music copyright Bruce A. Russell 2025
EL MAHBOOB 
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