"Nevertheless," for Solo Clarinet

Written for clarinetist Jonathan Cosme Sánchez.

Program note:

Nevertheless,

Program Note:

5-6’

“Nevertheless,” is the result of a deeply personal and collaborative commission between clarinetist Jonathan Cosme Sánchez and composer and saxophonist Jacob Bickham. The idea for the piece grew from Jonathan's admiration for Bickham's work, particularly his sensitivity to movement and his history of collaborating with dancers. Wanting to create a piece that could live both as a solo clarinet work and as a work involving dance, Jonathan approached Bickham with the invitation to compose something new.

Bickham often draws inspiration from poetry, and he asked Jonathan to share a text that felt. personally meaningful. Jonathan chose Joseph Brodsky's poem "A Song", a work whose emotional landscape resonated with him. Using Brodsky's poem as a point of departure, Bickham wrote an original poem titled "Nevertheless,", which became the emotional and structural foundation of the composition. The resulting piece is shaped by themes of struggle, darkness, faith, and renewal, expressed through both the clarinet's voice and the poetic narrative that accompanies it.

A Song

I wish you were here, dear,

I wish you were here.

I wish you sat on the sofa

 and I sat near.

The handkerchief could be yours, 

the tear could be mine, chin-bound.

Though it could be, of course, 

the other way around.

I wish you were here, dear,

I wish you were here.

I wish we were in my car

 and you'd shift the gear.

We'd find ourselves elsewhere, 

on an unknown shore.

Or else we'd repair

 to where we've been before.

I wish you were here, dear,

I wish you were here.

I wish I knew no astronomy

 when stars appear,

when the moon skims the water

 that sighs and shifts in its slumber.

I wish it were still a quarter

 to dial your number.

I wish you were here, dear, 

in this hemisphere,

 As I sit on the porch

 sipping a beer.

It's evening, the sun is setting; 

boys shout and gulls are crying.

What's the point of forgetting

 if it's followed by dying?

-Joseph Brodsky

Nevertheless,

I would make progress, 

and come closer to the light.

Nevertheless-

I’d fall again.

My soul wept.

My light, out. 

Hope, dwindled.

My Lord, however-

was faithful to me,

even when I was distant.

Nevertheless,

My Lord would come for me.

Like a thief in the night.

Like a bolt of lightning.

Blotting out my darkness with his light.

Nevertheless- 

He always, always, comes back for me.

-Jacob Bickham