Christian Ryan: Sad Songs (2025) - Trio 72 Live @ WSU

composed by Christian Ryan (2025)

Joseph Gray, violin
Brendan Callies, cello
Derek Szlauer, piano

Program note:

Sad Songs is a trio in three sections for violin, cello, and piano. Though its surface moves from stillness to motion to a final blooming complexity, the entire piece is quietly bound together by a single note: E. That pitch acts as a constant point of return—a thread that ties each section together even as the emotional character shifts.

The opening section is the most restrained. The violin and cello sustain a delicate, unbroken E while the piano traces a slow, deliberate melody above it. The harmony barely moves; instead, the music lingers in a kind of suspended time, where the smallest gesture feels weighted and intentional.

The second section sets that same E into motion. The piano adopts a pulsing 2-against-3 rhythm, colored by cross-hand ornamentation, while the strings lean in and out of long, aching suspensions. Gradually, the tension softens and folds into a gentle berceuse—a fragile rocking motion that grows naturally out of the rhythmic undercurrent.

The final section unfolds as a set of variations on a short cycle of simple harmonies. It begins with the violin alone—intimate and exposed—and each recurrence gathers more texture, interlocking rhythms, and harmonic detail. Across three passes through the cycle, the music becomes gradually more open and expressive, building toward a bright, full-voiced climax before settling into its final release.

Written during a difficult period in my life, Sad Songs was composed for the performers who premiered it: Joseph Gray, Brendan Callies, and Derek Szlauer, with gratitude.