Woodwind Ensemble - 4

For 2 Oboes and English Horn, "Five Elfin Dances" is a fun piece that works best in a recital setting.  The movements include:

I. The Busy Village

II. Cautious Explorers

III. Dance in the Glen

IV. The Princess's Song

V. Bound for Home

Program notes from the composer:

These miniatures began as musical doodling, written for fun during breaks from work on larger pieces.  I have no idea why, but the first three pieces feature fleeting quotes from J. S. Bach.

These pieces were played several times soon after they were completed, including one performance for a class of 5th-graders at a local elementary school. In the days following that performance, the three musicians received several cards from the students.  One girl wrote, "Thanks for coming.  I was going to play the oboe but now I have decided not to."  It's a wonderful thing to be able to influence a young life with one's music.

This trio for Oboe, Alto Saxophone, and Piano was commissioned by Dr. Debra McKim, Professor of Music at Hastings College in Nebraska.  Each movement of this piece is based on a different synthetic scale. 

The first movement is based on a five-note scale that includes the notes of a half-diminished chord plus the major second.  Harmonic motion is created by transposing the scale up by minor thirds every measure, then every two beats, and finally every beat. 

The second movement is based on a symmetrical six-note scale that include three half-steps:  B, C, Eb, E, G, Ab.  The scale remains the same throughout the movement, without modulation.  Augmented harmonies are created by building chords from every other note of the scale. 

The third movement uses the same six-note scale throughout: Db, E, F, F#, A, C. Harmonic motion is very limited in this movement

This is an excellent for a college recital.

For Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Harpsichord, this "Sonata da Chiesa" is in four movements

1.Es ist ein’ Ros entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming)

2. Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her (From Heaven Above to Earth I Come)

3. Joseph lieber, Joseph mein (Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine)

4. In Dulci Jubilo (Good Christian Men, Rejoice)