Work
Circo II
for bass clarinet
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About
Circo II was written in 1996 during the composer's course of postgraduate study at the University of Canterbury and is dedicated to Deborah Ashworth, a bass clarinettist from Wellington, who gave its first performances. The inspiration for Circo II was the desire to explore the range of sounds of a lesser-used instrument, sounds which may appear very unlike a bass clarinet. Compositions by William O.Smith (USA) and Peter Scholes (NZ) were influential during the composition of the work. The bass clarinet begins, singing in its uppermost register, rather like a male voice in its falsetto register. Soon it descends to its deepest notes, eventually breaking out in a display of harmonics, trills and 'colour fingerings'. The work ends as it began, returning to the smooth vocal lines.
Dedication note
Dedicated to Deborah Ashworth
Contents note
one movement
Performance history
Performed by Andrew Uren (bass clarinet)