Karim Al-Zand: Music: Duo for flute and cello


Duo

for flute and cello

Duo for flute and cello consists of a three short, contrasting movements. The first, Musette, features scordatura in the cello: a single string is tuned one half step higher than is normal. This string acts as a drone, which rings throughout the movement——a reference to the characteristic sound of the bagpipe after which the movement is named. imageThe Crestfallen Moon is a slow, plaintive song that exploits predominantly the dark, low register of the flute. Its texture is transparent, limited to mostly unadorned two-part writing. The last movement, Snapdragon, is a quick and lively piece, in perpetual skittish motion, punctuated by vigorous cello pizzicatos. Its character is as much reflective of the Snapdragon flower—a colorful perennial with a “mouth” which “snaps” open when squeezed—as of a peculiar parlor game of the same name. “Snapdragon” was a traditional holiday diversion popular from 16th to 19th century, in which “raisins being put into a bowl of brandy, and the candles extinguished, the spirit is set on fire, and the company scramble for the raisins.” (Francis Gosse, 1811).

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DATE
2012

DURATION
12 minutes

INSTRUMENTATION
flute, cello

MOVEMENTS
I. Musette
II. The Crestfallen Moon
III. Snapdragon

COMMISSION
Exorior Duo: Michelle Cheramy, flute | Nathan Cook, cello
with support from Memorial University of Newfoundland

PREMIÈRE
March 3, 2012 | D.F. Cook Recital Hall, Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada
Exorior Duo


AUDIO

1. Musette
2. The Crestfallen Moon
3. Snapdragon


SCORE
PDF

© 2015 KARIM AL-ZAND