Description
Ballade has a late romantic feel reminiscent at times of the songs of Gershwin, jazz blues and even some of the music of Poulenc. The unsettling chords are based on a particular disposition of the guitarist’s fingers, which, when transported over from strings 2,3,4,5 to 1,2,3,4 or to 3,4,5,6, each produces different harmonic effects because of the way in which the guitar is tuned (all fourths except for the third between 3 and 2). The clarinet follows the guitarist’s wandering harmonies, creating a yearning melody with sighs covering its whole range.