Fantasy for Bass Clarinet

Duration: 14’

Premiere: April 23rd, 2008 by Ryan Yure and Yuan-chen Li


Program Notes:This fantasy roams through various modes that feature the augmented second. Some of these are traditional klezmer (eastern European Jewish music) modes, others are modes of an imaginary culture. The piece begins rooted in a mode centered around G, and a G and D drone accompanies the entire piece. However, as the clarinet roams around, it drifts farther away from G, until it is quite at odds with the drone. When it reaches a point of furthest remove, it decides that there is no place like home, and gradually returns to G. This concludes the mostly unmetered first part. The second part of the piece is a reinterpretation of the first part in a rhythmic manner.