Score & Part
To fill this emptiness : for bassoon and piano / by Houston Dunleavy
Library shelf no. 788.58/DUN 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
This little piece was commissioned by bassoonist Sophie Rhee as
part of a group of new
works that formed part of her Ph.D. at the University of Western
Sydney.
The title, as is often the case for me, comes from the musical
processes that unfold in the
work. The emptiness referred to is the held note at the end of
the first phrase in the piano.
The piece is an exploration as to how this held note, and its
analogous moments later in the
work, can be "filled" with musical material. The objective of the
pieces was to find as many
ways as possible to fill these empty moments while still
retaining musical characteristics.
So, the process of filling the space is constantly evolving,
constantly changing.
As the piece progress, these "fillers" begin to take on a life of
their own. They grow and be
empty space recedes. The "empty space" flows backward and forward
between the bassoon
and piano, almost like a tennis game!
I hope this piece shows a little more of the agility and
expressive power of the bassoon,
which has a versatile and beautiful sonority.
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