Suite of Miniatures for Wind Octet by Ralph Raymond Hays Woodwind Ensemble - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.720392

Suite of Miniatures for Woodwind Octet is a new work by American composer, Ralph Raymond Hays. It was commissioned by the Harmonic Music Foundation, and is comprised of three movements which take advantage of the warm and vibrant tone colors of the various woodwinds.

The first movement, Caprice, is a circus waltz in ever-changing asymmetric meter. This movement is in rondo form, and is intended to elicit impressions of the calliope, an aerial act, comical yet somewhat terrifying clowns, and the long drive home after excessive consumption of popcorn and cotton candy.

The second movement, Reminiscence, is a tranquil and introspective ballad which features the oboe on its plaintive primary melody. Shifting degrees consonance and dissonance evoke the concurrent ache and beauty of recollection.

The final movement is a jocular double fugue which -- because of the juxtaposition of minor and relative major, the syncopated rhythms, and the employment of a modified circle of fifths chord progression-- was unintentionally reminiscent to the composer of the theme to a 1960s television show, hence the subtitle: "Out of the Bottle."