The title is
descriptive–the instruments express themselves as
dancers and also relate to each other in dance-like
fashion. The piece is in four sections, and the textures
and tempi resemble a baroque dance format of slow, fast,
slow, fast. ….The slow first movement,
“Andante molto,” features the quintet as a
composite instrument, with long phrases created by
different pairings amongst the group….Although
dissonance is present, it is not the focal
point….Counterpoints of spacious ascending and
descending gestures, long phrases, and some exchange and
reordering of material give the first section a graceful
balletlike character
…The tempo is faster
and the mood becomes humorous for the second section as
playful figures of neighbor-tones, repeated notes, and
seventh chords are lightheartedly tossed from one
instrument to another….. The slow third section
begins with a sensuous anacrusis figure introduced by the
flute and then echoed by the other instruments in
different mutations, creating an almost hypnotic
mood….Fine manipulates the anacrusis cleverly,
enlarging the gesture or reducing the figure to just a
grace note ….The theme from the first movement
returns, and then the final fast movement abruptly
commences. Previous materials are transformed and
incorporated into a powerful, onrushing momentum. No more
graceful ballet—this is modern dance!
–adapted from
The Music of Vivian Fine, by Heidi Von Gunden,
Scarecrow Press, 1999