Five Lyric Pieces began its life in 2000 as a song cycle called Winter Solace, which was premiered at a festival of my music given at the University of Central Oklahoma in February of 2000. In 2012, desiring to present a long-promised work to Dr. John Anderson, co-owner of Jeanne, Inc, I came up the idea of reworking the cycle for clarinet and piano, in order write something for this artist on the clarinet. Consequently, the vocal line was re-worked to make it more idiomatic for performance by a woodwind player. The present work is not a flashy virtuoso piece, but is intended to display the rich tone of the solo instrument. The dark quality of the texts of the song cycle, dealing with the subject of the death of children, is complemented by a generally somber atmosphere in the music, but the set of pieces ends on an optimistic note, reflecting my conviction of the continuation of life in eternity.
