Michael Montgomery: The Dream of the Earth for double bass trio

About the Composition

The Dream of the Earth is inspired by Thomas Berry’s book of the same name and the three evocative and colorful pieces explore a range of moods and emotions, mostly within the orchestral register of the double bass. Each piece is short and succinct, none outstaying their welcome, and the suite would be ideal concert repertoire for the intermediate trio or simply to play with friends.

1. "For You are Dust ..." (Genesis 3:19)

We were literally made from the “Dust” of the universe - 96% of the human body is made up of Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen. Hydrogen did not come to be in the universe until about 380,000 years after the Big Bang and Carbon, Oxygen, and Nitrogen were created quite some time later, with the nuclear fusion of stars. In the absence of these elements, life as we know it could not evolve on Earth, but as these elements were formed life did emerge, and best estimates place that happening between 3.8 and 3.5 billion years ago. Though the earliest “human” species, Homo habilis, appeared some 2.4 million years ago, Homo sapiens (us) evolved possibly 300,000 years ago, and developed “consciousness” and “self-awareness” over a period of time - Thomas Berry sees in this development the universe's "most elaborate expression", the Earth's "special mode of reflexive consciousness". Indeed, we were raised from the dust of the Earth, and this movement offers a gentle and almost naive reflection on the wonders this consciousness now affords us.

2. Hudson’s River (The Garden)

In 1609 explorer Henry Hudson (1565-1611) landed in North America in search of a water route across the continent. Exploring the region that would become the New York metropolitan area, he sailed up the Hudson River, named after Hudson who explored it in 1609, where he encountered the people of the Mohawk and Mohican tribes. Adriaen van der Donck wrote in his book Description of the New Netherlands (1655), “The natives had never seen such a ship, they did not know what to think about her, but stood in deep and solemn amazement, wondering whether it were a ghost or apparition coming down from heaven, or from hell. Others of them supposed her to be a strange fish or sea monster.”

Indigenous cultures are often seen as having a spiritual bond to the Earth, a strong sense of stewardship. Speaking of the Hudson River of the time of Indian habitation Thomas Berry writes, “Never was the region more brilliant in its colour, in the exuberance of its life expression, in the grandeur of its tall white pines, in its beaver population, in the abundance of its oysters and clams, in its shad and tomcod and striped bass. Never were the woodlands more resonant with their songbirds, never were the skies more often witness to the peregrine falcon, the red-tailed hawks, and the bald eagles. Nor was the water ever more refreshing as it came down from the Adirondacks to meet the sea.”

And so it was - we are still left to wondering, how will this veritable “Garden of Eden” fare during the Euro-American tenure? From the moment of that encounter to this day a certain foreboding has been ever-present. A pulsating and dissonant middle section to this second movement (suggesting potential peril for both the natives and their garden) is mitigated by the somewhat tranquil and calm passages which precede and follow it. The setting of the entire movement in 5/4 adds an ambient aura of uneasiness, and the final cadence to a minor leaves us with a bit of ambiguity.

3. The Dream

Mulling over the magnitude of the power the peoples of the earth now possess, power potent enough to destroy even our very planet should we not be mindful, Berry closes with these optimistic musings: “... but even as we glance over the grimy world before us, the sun shines radiantly over the earth, the aspen leaves shimmer in the evening breeze, the coo of the mourning dove and the swelling chorus of the insects fill the land, while down in the hollows the mist deepens the fragrance of the honeysuckle. Soon the late summer moon will give a light sheen to the landscape. Something of a dream experience. Perhaps on occasion we participate in the original dream of the earth. Perhaps there are times when this primordial design becomes visible, as in a palimpsest, when we remove the later imposition. The dream of the earth.” A festive, frolicking third movement brings this collection to a close.

[Program notes by Michael Montgomery]

This collection of double bass trios, with the advancing bassist in mind, uses the orchestral register only (the highest note is “G” an octave above the open G string); it is written almost entirely in bass clef.

About the Composer

Double bassist Michael Montgomery, a student of Robert Rohe (Principal Bass, New Orleans Symphony) and Lucas Drew (Principal Bass, Miami Philharmonic), earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in double bass performance from the University of Miami, played full-time in the bass section of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra for two decades.

He now lives in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, where he teaches double bass at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and privately in his home studio. Michael has composed numerous works for young double bassists (including over five dozen short bass quartets for young students) which are published by Recital Music and two American publishers.

His articles about bass performance, literature, and teaching have been published in American Suzuki Journal, Bass World, and Pastoral Music.