Original version for 3 clarinets, one player using three instruments in succession: B flat clarinet, Bass clarinet, and E flat clarinet.
Version for 1 B flat clarinet
Ruach is the Hebrew word for wind, spirit and breath. This piece is written for three instruments in one work, representing the presence of the Spirit in the three persons of the Trinity. The bass clarinet symbolises the creator, by sounding pitches which contain the harmonic series (a range of higher notes which are contained within low notes). The B flat clarinet using the middle register is suggestive of Jesus as its range bridges the low and high clarinets, and it is also the range of the human male and female voice. The E flat instrument, the highest, reminds us of Paul’s exhortation to be ‘ambitious for the higher gifts’ (1 Cor. 12:31), suggesting that love is a gift of the Spirit.
