Granfalloon (2004)
Form: Chamber Instrumentation: bassoon, piano Year: 2004 Duration: 7:00 Premiere: 3/03 - Alden Banta, Eleonor Bindman, Under St. Marks, New York, NY
Single-movement piece for the rare combination of bassoon and piano, with a title inspired by Kurt Vonnegut.
Program Notes
Granfaloon - The title of this work comes from Kurt Vonnegut who defines granfaloon as "a proud and meaningless association of human beings, e.g. The Veterans of Future Wars." The most recently-composed piece included, it was inspired by and dedicated to two marvelous champions of my music, Alden Banta and Eleonor Bindman, who perform it here. The issue of balance is critical when pairing the bassoon and piano and a sparseness pervades this work, the climaxes sounding especially thunderous. The two instruments navigate a relentlessly changing meter and the light, rhythmic buoyancy is intended to showcase agility and to dispel the unfortunate clownish reputation of the bassoon. The lyrical nature of this instrument is best exemplified in the middle section.
