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)