Score & Part
Duo Sonata : for clarinet and piano / Michael Kieran Harvey.
Library shelf no. 788.62/HAR 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
This Duo was commissioned by the Australian virtuoso clarinettist Bailey Hume and is dedicated to him with gratitude. The four opening clarinet notes derive from his surname HUME, and occur throughout the work in various permutations.The sonata is in two movements with a mainly solo clarinet interlude incorporated into the end of movement I. Australia holds the dubious distinction of accounting for a third of all global mammal extinctions in the last 500 years (BBC "The Documentary Podcast" 15/06/2025). The Duo attempts to capture the fecundity of the natural world in movement I, suggested by a constantly morphing dodecophonic code and rhythmic thematicism, which is gradually silenced. A mournful elegy then follows as attempts to resuscitate it fail. The second movement is an ironic Dance on the grave of Nature, as if humans are not reliant on Nature. This hubris, folly and disrespect defies description.
Work Details
Year: 2025
Instrumentation: Clarinet in B flat, piano.
Duration: 21 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Contents note: I. "Extinctions R Us" -- II. "Grave Dance".
Dedication note: Dedicated to Bailey Hume
Commission note: Commissioned by Bailey Hume
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