for flute, violin, and piano
Art is amazing in that what you end up with can be vasty different from what you started with. This trio original started out as an assignment for one of my composition lesson in college. The assignment was to write a few bars of music for 2 instruments using only 2 intervals. The instruments I chose were oboe and violin and the intervals were the minor second and the major third.
Having strict rules and parameters in your art forces you to look at things with fresh eyes and helps you decisions you normally would not have made. Sometimes it is ok to let the rules lax after you got what you needed from them. In this piece the interval limitation helped me generate the melody and the harmony. Those limitations were great when I was only assigned to compose a few measures. However, when I decided to expand it into a piece of music I realized it needed a little bit more contrast and variety. Ultimately, I decided that this piece would benefit from breaking my own rules and I used more intervals. Eventually the piece changed even more as the oboe became a flute (it is easier to find flautists to play your music) and I added the piano to make a fuller texture.
I am extremely happy with this piece and am considering expanding it to a more lengthy composition.
Melissa Hefferlin, Chamber Music With The Nymphs