Ripple (2018)
flute, bassoon
c. 4 minutes 30 seconds
Premiered by Jeffrey Chapman (flute) and Cameron Joublin (bassoon)
Collier House, Eugene, OR, 3 June 2018
Ripple is the product of one of my better-attended office hours for second year keyboard skills. After I had complained loudly to one of my classes that no one ever showed up to my office hour, two of my students—Jeffrey and Cameron—were kind enough to attend (albeit an hour later than my actual office hour, but I still appreciated the effort). Jeffrey had performed in my doctoral recital, and during one office hour or another we decided that I would compose a duet for him and Cameron for his own recital later that year. In talking with Jeffrey and Cameron, we all expressed an interest in the overlapping registers of the flute and bassoon, and this concept became the impetus for the rest of the piece.
Ripple is, in essence, a game of registers. Throughout the work, the flute and bassoon crisscross in an undulating pattern in the range they share. At the same time, they create a melody by alternating notes from their outer registers. After a more florid passage in the flute, the duo hesitantly returns to its opening material, bringing the work to its close. Listen in particular for the rapidly increasing distance between the flute and bassoon as they push toward their extreme registers at the climax of the piece, culminating in an aggressive crescendo in both instruments.
c. 4 minutes 30 seconds
Premiered by Jeffrey Chapman (flute) and Cameron Joublin (bassoon)
Collier House, Eugene, OR, 3 June 2018
Ripple is the product of one of my better-attended office hours for second year keyboard skills. After I had complained loudly to one of my classes that no one ever showed up to my office hour, two of my students—Jeffrey and Cameron—were kind enough to attend (albeit an hour later than my actual office hour, but I still appreciated the effort). Jeffrey had performed in my doctoral recital, and during one office hour or another we decided that I would compose a duet for him and Cameron for his own recital later that year. In talking with Jeffrey and Cameron, we all expressed an interest in the overlapping registers of the flute and bassoon, and this concept became the impetus for the rest of the piece.
Ripple is, in essence, a game of registers. Throughout the work, the flute and bassoon crisscross in an undulating pattern in the range they share. At the same time, they create a melody by alternating notes from their outer registers. After a more florid passage in the flute, the duo hesitantly returns to its opening material, bringing the work to its close. Listen in particular for the rapidly increasing distance between the flute and bassoon as they push toward their extreme registers at the climax of the piece, culminating in an aggressive crescendo in both instruments.