Verge

Composed in 1997 for the Verdehr Trio, who commissioned it and recorded it for Crystal Records (CD943), Verge is one of Sebastian Currier’s best known and most often played pieces. The instrumental writing is often extremely delicate and fastidious, and contrasting dynamics are employed in a way that will test the player’s ability to make rapid adjustments in playing style. Each of the nine brief movements is on the “verge” of some state, attitude or tempo (“almost too fast,” “almost too slow,” “almost too mechanical,” “almost too dark,” etc…) and except for the last movement (“almost too calm”), the movements are in contrasting pairs. Currier’s fantastic ear for instrumental sonorities makes the cleverness of the concept subservient to musical considerations in a piece that is already a classic of the modern repertoire for mixed trios.