Piccassoon (2015)

Piccassoon (2015) – for piccolo/flute and bassoon, series of duets, Grade 5, ca. 7′

Piccassoon is a piece I’ve wanted to write for ages. The word, a portmanteau of ‘piccolo’ and ‘bassoon,’ was coined by Akari Ogawa, a friend of mine who is a wonderful flautist. On April 12, 2013, she posted a picture on Facebook of a piccolo with a bassoon bocal replacing the traditional mouthpiece (not unlike P.D.Q. Bach’s tromboon). Ever since, I’ve had the idea of writing a series of duets for piccolo and bassoon. The title and instrumentation have a humorous connotation (thanks to the likes of Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes), and I took that approach when writing it. The piece is in 9 movements, and is about 9’30” long. Each movement is inspired by a particular era of music (see if you can tell which is which!). Sample audio is below.
I. Kyrie
II. Pavan and Galliard
III. Invention in d minor
IV. Rondino
V. Homage to L.V.B. (Ludwig van Beethoven)
VI. Dodecacophany
VII. Americana
VIII. R.A.G.R. (pronounced ‘rager,’ Riley, Adams, Glass, and Reich)
IX. Piccassoon (using Neal Endicott’s ‘cryptoserialist’ technique)

Score/Parts (PDF) – $10