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In this movement from "The Elements", which Glen Newton composed as part of the 1983 West Bank School of Music composers' workshop, the piano introduces the theme, based on the letters W-A-T-E-R, which become B-A-F-E-D after reducing them to the range of notes in a scale. That is, after G, an H becomes an A, I=B, J=C, K=D, L=E, M=F, N=G, O=A, and so on.
The composer comments:
This sequence of notes seemed to me to imply a D minor tonality, so I wrote a pedal D for the pianist to play before leaning into the piano and playing the five-note theme using a guitar pick on the strings. We had a grand piano available at each performance, so access to the strings was easy. However, unlike harp strings, which are color-coded to make them easier to identify, piano strings are all the same color, and on one performance, Maggie missed the F and played an E. She quickly covered up the mistake by playing E-flat instead of the next written note, so that she ended on a D and still had a descending line.
Bell tree glissandi in the percussion part accompany the introduction, suggesting flowing water, and the three tenor saxes provide a cadence in bars two and four. The piano solo continues, with the cup-muted trumpet restating the five-note theme once at A. At the end of the third bar, the three tenor saxes join the mix.