Slippery Slopes by Daniel Dorff Chamber Music - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.114423890

ISBN 9781491136317. UPC: 680160688821.

Enticing for college and professional ensembles, SLIPPERY SLOPES begins as a tender elegy, leading to a spiky 7/8 allegro marked Driving!, all in big-band harmony and Latin-infused rhythm. The 6-minute work calls for 4 Bb clarinets and 2 bass clarinets (that don’t go below low Eb), plus an optional contrabass part. SLIPPERY SLOPES works equally well for full ensembles or six solo players, and the 7/8 Salsa is ideal for clarinetists hungry for challenges that are gratifying to learn and perform.
Inspired by the commissioner’s name and location, the title SLIPPERY SLOPES may also suggest other meanings. While beginning work on the piece in September 2022, I learned of the passing of my former teacher, the great bass clarinetist Ron Reuben (who joined the Stan Kenton Band on saxophone after graduating from the Curtis Institute; he later played for 38 years as the Philadelphia Orchestra’s bass clarinetist). Ron liked reminding me that most modern jazz is more inventively progressive than most modern classical. The opening 32 bars oozed out when I heard about Ron, and I originally thought this would become the 2nd of 3 movements in a little suite. But those opening bars just wanted to get up and dance.* * *SLIPPERY SLOPES is scored for 4 Bb Clarinets and 2 Bass Clarinets (that don’t go below low Eb). There is also an optional Bb Contrabass part. SLIPPERY SLOPES may be performed by a sextet (or septet) of solo players, or by a large ensemble.Jazz-inspired energy and attitude may affect performers’ style and phrasing, particularly in the featured solo passages, however all rhythms are straight, not swung.