SKU: FP.FZZ07

ISBN 979-0-57050-328-5.

Forsyth's Modern Wind Music is a series of volumes containing exciting and challenging, but not unduly difficult, works by talented English composers of current or recent vintage for recital, study or recreation. Each volume includes three works with piano, one unaccompanied piece, and one piece for two or more players of the instrument. In this volume for clarinet John Casken's 'Taerset' takes its title from Tarset in Northumberland, inspired by a holiday there, while Julia Usher's 'Subsequent Darkness' is inspired by a game of chess. The solo work is a capricious 'Arabesque' by Richard Orton, who also contributes a quartet for clarinets that plays on diaphragm articulation. David Ellis's 'Berceuse' is an extended lullaby, but not without its troubled dreams.

SKU: P2.30137

Dream Sonatina (2011) was commissioned by Marguerite Levin, former principal clarinet of the Baltimore Opera Orchestra and professor of clarinet at Towson University in Baltimore, MD. Marguerite asked me to reflect on recent experiences encompassing my 30s. Easily, those experiences are wrapped around my two children, who were both born in this same decade. The piece, written in three movements, captures some of the unique moments of early childhood. The first movement, Daydream, portrays a sleepy, yet active little one trying to interact with the new world around him. The second movement, Sweet Dreams, captures the peace and tranquility of two little boys sleeping in their beds after a fun and crazy day. The final movement, Bad Dreams, is a more aggressive movement that paints a picture of the occasional night terror that children sometimes experience. While it is sinister in nature, it also strikes a balance with a lighter playful quality as these dreams are never truly threatening.
Dream Sonatina was premiered on October 9, 2011 in Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) by Marguerite Levin (clarinet) and R. Timothy McReynolds (piano).