Program Note
I wrote Yggdrasil (pronounced “IG-druh-sill”) for Emma Xiong, a student of Wilma Hawkins, for Cascadia Composers In Good Hands 2022. Emma shared with me her love for legato, lyrical music in major keys and her enjoyment of fantasy books and trees. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an enormous sacred tree that connects
the human world to the heavens in its branches and the underworld through its roots. It is cared for by three Norns, goddesses who can see the past, present, and future. The long arpeggios represent the enormous tree stretching from root to branches, from underworld to heaven, and the middle section expresses the tree’s strength and grace.
the human world to the heavens in its branches and the underworld through its roots. It is cared for by three Norns, goddesses who can see the past, present, and future. The long arpeggios represent the enormous tree stretching from root to branches, from underworld to heaven, and the middle section expresses the tree’s strength and grace.