Groundings (2004) Paul Mulligan, clarinet; Fanny Bray, cello; Marc Ryser, piano (recorded at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Alberta, Canada, 2005)

Program notes "Groundings" reflects the ongoing cycles of “groundedness” and “ungroundedness” that we as human beings all face throughout our lives: cycles in which grounded, balanced states evolve mysteriously into--and emerge out of--ungrounded, chaotic ones. The title also pays homage to the ground basses common in music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Commissioned by the British contemporary music ensemble Ephyra, Groundings was first performed in November 2004 at the Jacqueline DuPré Music Hall in Oxford, England. The production of Groundings was funded in part by a grant from The American Music Center's Composer Assistance Program.

There are three instrumental versions of "Groundings" available. The original is alto sax/cello/piano (for Ephyra), followed by cl(A)/cello/piano (2005); finally, alto flute/bassoon/piano (for the Scarborough Trio) (2005).