Flowers by the Sea (2019) by Kyle Hovatter
for flute, clarinet, and viola
World premiere; Earplay commission

Flowers by the Sea is based off of a poem by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) and is dedicated to Sarah, my why and how.

Flowers by the Sea
by William Carlos Williams

When over the flowery, sharp pasture's
edge, unseen, the salt ocean

lifts its form—chicory and daisies
tied, released, seem hardly flowers alone

but color and the movement—or the shape
perhaps—of restlessness, whereas

the sea is circled and sways
peacefully upon its plantlike stem

— K. H.    

[from program for May 20, 2019 concert]