{"id":691,"date":"2013-05-02T19:29:37","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T19:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=691"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:25:53","slug":"cabinet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=691","title":{"rendered":"Karim Al-Zand: Music: Cabinet of Curiosities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"columns-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"two-columns\">\n<h2>Cabinet of Curiosities<\/h2>\n<h4>for clarinet &amp; piano<\/h4>\n<p><span class=\"drop-caps\">A<\/span> \u201ccabinet of curiosities,\u201d also known as a <i>Wunderkammer<\/i>, is an elaborate cupboard used as a repository of diverse and exotic objects, the assembly of which was a popular pastime for the affluent European of the 16th and 17th centuries. (The trompe l\u2019oeil cabinet at left is by Andrea Domenico Remps, ca. 1620\u20131699.)<\/p>\n<p>A typical cabinet would contain a wide array of small, rare and intriguing items drawn from the natural world (ornate coral and shells, bizarre insects), science (intricate clocks and toys, distorted mirrors), history (letters, relics, antiquities) and art (carvings, miniature paintings, figurines).\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/cabinet.jpg\" alt=\"image\" \/><i>Cabinet of Curiosities<\/i> presents a similarly diverse musical collection: six short pieces, each one with a somewhat peculiar and idiosyncratic character.\u00a0The first imagines a still life painting in which one of the subjects is less than stationary.\u00a0The second is a sort of vaulting dance, written as a musical palindrome.\u00a0There follows an anamorphic fantasy on an old English folksong, a stately Baroque dance built on ascending and descending scales, and a <i>billet doux<\/i> for solo clarinet.\u00a0The last movement is a set of rhythmic variations on the eleven-beat Bulgarian <i>Kopanitsa<\/i> rhythm.<\/p>\n<p><i>Cabinet of Curiosities<\/i> was written for a consortium of twenty clarinetists, assembled with the generous assistance of my friend and colleague <a href=\"http:\/\/music.rice.edu\/facultybios\/webster.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Webster<\/a>.\u00a0The consortium included clarinetists: J. Lawrie Bloom, Kelly Burke, Chad Edward Burrow, Jane Carl, Linda A. Cionitti, Steve Cohen, F. Gerard Errante, Kenneth Grant, William Helmers, Stephanie Key, Patricia Kostek, Richard Nunemaker, Andreas Ramseier, Ant\u00f3nio Saiote, Robert Spring, Jo-Ann Sternberg, Jennifer Stevenson, Michael Webster, Charles West, Nathan Williams, and Peter Wright.<\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mtEWAL1CCWM?si=NV9DuQNYW4tI7zC5' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"pricing-box three-columns\">\r\n          <h4><span>purchase score &amp; parts<\/span><\/h4><span class=\"price\"> <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=4372\" class=\"button\"><span>Learn More<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"two-columns nomargin\">\n<p>DATE<br \/>\n2009<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>DURATION<br \/>\n15 minutes<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>INSTRUMENTATION<br \/>\nclarinet, piano<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>COMMISSION<br \/>\nClarinet Consortium<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>PREMI\u00c8RE<br \/>\n2009\u20132010 season<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<p>MOVEMENTS<br \/>\n1. Still Life with lizard<br \/>\n2. Saltarello al rovescio<br \/>\n3. Early one morning in a convex mirror<br \/>\n4. Sarabande selon la r\u00e8gle de l\u2019octave<br \/>\n5. Love letter<br \/>\n6. Divisions on a Bulgarian rhythm<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>AUDIO<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nick Davies, clarinet | Wesley Ducote, piano<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a9289646.36719467\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a9289646.36719467','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet1.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a9289646.36719467');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a9289646.36719467\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a9289646.36719467','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a9289646.36719467');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div>1. Still life with lizard<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a92ac814.09262266\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a92ac814.09262266','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet2.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a92ac814.09262266');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a92ac814.09262266\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a92ac814.09262266','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a92ac814.09262266');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div>2. Saltarello al rovescio<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a92d5193.30711966\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a92d5193.30711966','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet3.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a92d5193.30711966');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a92d5193.30711966\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a92d5193.30711966','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a92d5193.30711966');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 3. Early one morning in a convex mirror<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a92fae82.83317515\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a92fae82.83317515','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet4.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a92fae82.83317515');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a92fae82.83317515\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a92fae82.83317515','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a92fae82.83317515');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 4. Sarabande selon la r\u00e8gle de l\u2019octave<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a931ff31.43326517\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a931ff31.43326517','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet5.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a931ff31.43326517');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a931ff31.43326517\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a931ff31.43326517','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a931ff31.43326517');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 5. Love letter<br \/>\n<div class=\"compact_audio_player_wrapper\"><div class=\"sc_player_container1\"><input type=\"button\" id=\"btnplay_69e1a5a9368199.22819217\" class=\"myButton_play\" onClick=\"play_mp3('play','69e1a5a9368199.22819217','http:\/\/alzand.com\/Cabinet6.mp3','80','false');show_hide('play','69e1a5a9368199.22819217');\" \/><input type=\"button\"  id=\"btnstop_69e1a5a9368199.22819217\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"myButton_stop\" onClick=\"play_mp3('stop','69e1a5a9368199.22819217','','80','false');show_hide('stop','69e1a5a9368199.22819217');\" \/><div id=\"sm2-container\"><!-- flash movie ends up here --><\/div><\/div><\/div> 6. Divisions on a Bulgarian rhythm<br \/>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>SCORE<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/alzand.com\/scores\/Cabinet_Of_Curiosities_SCORE.pdf\">PDF<\/a>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>VIDEO<\/p>\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OBMSzZZrlss?si=sEeLIMUldK8orEJh\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cabinet of Curiosities for clarinet &amp; piano A \u201ccabinet of curiosities,\u201d also known as a Wunderkammer, is an elaborate cupboard used as a repository of diverse and exotic objects, the assembly of which was a popular pastime for the affluent European of the 16th and 17th centuries. (The trompe l\u2019oeil cabinet at left is by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-691","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":89,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7057,"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/691\/revisions\/7057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}