The Moments Just Before

The Moments Just before

by Brady Wolff

For Solo Piano, Advanced, 5 Pages

This work is inspired by “Je n'ai plus que les os,” a work from Pierre de Ronsard’s posthumous collection of poetry. Authored near the end of his life, this poem exudes the despair and pain of watching his own body break down as he waits for the moment he finally crosses over to the other side.

This work begins with a solemn motif which places emphasis away from the downbeat, portraying unrest and unease. Nervousness and excitement soar above this motif as the narrators stomach fills with butterflies in anticipation and fear of the afterlife. In the third stanza, Ronsard anguishes in his friends’ reactions to seeing his decrepit body. This sentiment is reflected in mm. 18-44 as a nostalgic theme develops itself, eventually reaching its climax and breaking down into a deluge of emotion.

As the narrator succumbs to death in mm. 44-52 the fluttering gesture reappears along with the previous motifs as final memories. This glistening texture of light and dark is further exacerbated by the mixture of major and minor modes. The major mode prevails at the top of the texture as, in his death, the character rejoices in his ability to prepare a place in the afterlife for his friends and family as they eventually follow him.

The Moments Just Before was awarded first prize in the Estivales de Lods Poetry and Piano Competition.