SKU: PR.114418900

ISBN 9781491129517. UPC: 680160668632.

A welcome addition to the bass flute repertoire, Dorff’s 14-minute sonata is designed as two pairs of slow-fast movements. While composed as a complete 4-movement sonata, either half may be performed alone as a 7-minute recital work. The movement titles are: I. Sprawling, burbling; II. Sparkling, glistening; III. Under Winter; and IV. Spring Spirits.
When Peter Sheridan commissioned me to write a piece for bass flute and piano, his only requests were a sonata-like multi-movement work, and some kind of reference to New York, where we both grew up. Just the thought of a bass flute, with its broad and mighty airstream, already reminded me of the mighty Hudson River: from the dense woods of upstate New York, through the beautiful landscapes of New Paltz and Poughkeepsie, down through the celebrated Manhattan waterway.As I daydreamed how to build a sonata inspired by the Hudson, I thought of its deep primal nature carved by the Ice Age, and the life within the river and on its shores long before humans arrived. I thought of how the river’s magnetism drew Native Americans who honored and built their lives around it. I thought of beautiful trees and wildlife, the annual cycles of ecosystems, and the natural symbiosis between the river itself, the life within, and the life on land spawned by the river’s resources.I wondered what if Thoreau had sat by the Hudson rather than by Walden Pond; I wondered what if Hesse had set Siddhartha in the Hudson Valley with this river as his metaphor for the flow of life and time.I wondered whether the sonata should flow from north to south, or have chronological references. I wondered if I should allude to the many poets and painters who have drawn inspiration from the mighty Hudson. Every thought led to the river’s essence, its own spirit and life — flowing through raw nature, from skinny trickles to mightiness spawning cities; supporting subtle life, and becoming a central commons for human societies.The subtitle Spirit of the Hudson brings it all together.* * *The sonata is built in 4 movements, with formal inspiration from the Baroque: A slow Mvt. 1 “Sprawling, burbling” leads directly to the rapid Mvt. 2 “Sparkling, glistening,” followed by another slow-fast pair: Mvt. 3 “Under Winter” which leads directly into Mvt. 4 “Spring Spirits.” In addition to performances of the complete sonata, either pair of movements may be performed on its own for a shorter concert segment.SONATA (SPIRIT OF THE HUDSON) was premiered at the International Low Flutes Festival in April 2018 by its commissioner, bass flutist Peter Sheridan, with Hyeeun Hahm as pianist.

SKU: PR.114423510

ISBN 9781491135327. UPC: 680160687480.

My Cross (2021) was commissioned as a gift to Boulder resident Laurie Hathorn by her husband Peter Spear and flutist Christina Jennings who gave the premiere. The piece is an exploration in bel canto writing for an instrument I have been in love with since my first forays as a composer. The technical challenges for the soloist lie primarily in breath control and in maintaining a sustained, beautiful tone throughout. Any meaning behind this music will remain a private, long-suffered trial for the composer to overcome.
My Cross (2021) was commissioned as a gift to Boulder resident Laurie Hathorn by her husband Peter Spear and flutist Christina Jennings who gave the premiere. The piece is an exploration in bel canto writing for an instrument I have been in love with since my first forays as a composer.The technical challenges for the soloist lie primarily in breath control and in maintaining a sustained, beautiful tone throughout. Any meaning behind this music will remain a private, long-suffered trial for the composer to overcome.

SKU: PR.114424240

ISBN 9781491137581. UPC: 680160691036.

THE BONES OF MR. FORTUNE (FREE AT LAST!) is an 11-minute concerto-like work for solo flute accompanied by symphonic winds and percussion – perfect to play with band or with orchestra, as well as with the composer’s own piano reduction. The work features lengthy cadenzas, and exhilarating dance-like sections with the ensemble. Hailstork describes the historical inspiration: Abused in life and death, an enslaved man (Mr. Fortune) was owned by a surgeon who preserved his skeleton to study anatomy. The bones remained with the doctor’s family for generations, and were given a proper burial making national news in 2013, 215 years after Mr. Fortune’s death.
Abused in life and death, an enslaved man known as Mr. Fortune was honored with an elaborate funeral more than 200 years after he died in Connecticut.Mr. Fortune was owned by Dr. Preserved Porter on a farm in Waterbury, Connecticut. When Fortune died in 1798, Porter, a bone surgeon, preserved his skeleton by having the bones boiled to study anatomy at a time when cadavers for medical study were disproportionately taken from slaves, servants and prisoners.One of Porter’s descendants gave the skeleton in 1933 to Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, where it was displayed from the 1940s until 1970. The descendant referred to the slave as “Larry” and his name was forgotten at the time.A study by forensic anthropologists at the Quinnipiac University School of Medicine concluded that Fortune was about 5 feet 5 inches tall and died at around 55 years old. He suffered a number of painful ailments, including a fracture in his left hand, a severe ankle sprain and lower back pain. “He was an individual who was in considerable distress,” a forensic professor, Richard Gonzalez said.I was taken by the bizarre story of Mr. Fortune and decided to use it as the stimulus for this work.

SKU: PR.114422710

ISBN 9781491136072. UPC: 680160688227.

DUO’s succinct movement titles (I. Here, II. Open, III. Stark, IV. Ardent) tease at revealing the grand and heartfelt inspiration for exuberant romanticism in this sonata-like work of symphonic proportions and depth. Charles Gibb is both an accomplished pianist and an award-winning flutist, who has written of this compelling major addition to the literature: “This work is a journey. What journey and whose journey does not matter. It is my journey, it is your journey. It is the journey of those who came before us, and of those who will come after us. I wrote this hoping that we can find each other along the road, so we can realize that we don’t need to go on the journey alone.” Gibb’s DUO is sure to become a favorite major work for flute recitalists.
This work is a journey. What journey and whose journey does not matter. It is my journey, it is your journey. It is the journey of those who came before us, and of those who will come after us. I wrote this hoping that we can find each other along the road, so we can realize that we don’t need to go on the journey alone.“Here” begins with three notes that shape the rhythmic and harmonic content of the entire work. Melodies and harmonies including the tonic, dominant, and leading tone can be found in each of the four movements. The first moments of this movement introduce the melody, offering itself unencumbered and uninhibited. It shows itself as it is. The melodies soar, the harmonies become voiced more intricately, and the opening theme repeats in full grandeur. The momentum slows down, and the movement ends with a sense of completion, yet remains unbalanced.A striking piano gesture launches “Open,” the idea of instability reflected with the flowing flute trills and unclear meter patterns in the piano. The sensation of an unsteady grace in 5/8 time arrives with a piano ostinato. The melody is expressive, yet insecure and unbalanced due to changing meters. After a grand pause, the movement transitions to 4/4 time with the flute switching between duplet and triplet flourishes. After a rapid descent in the flute, the opening gesture returns, changed and abruptly interrupted.The third movement, “Stark,” is very static, beginning plainly but markedly. The falling fifth calls out continually throughout the movement, searching, lost. Melodies appear in pieces, some smooth and flowing, others rather disjunct. The piece climaxes with a line of mournfulness, yet revealing a deeper strength through intense projection of tone in the high register. However, the static harmonies return, this time unsteady all the way to its foundation. This destabilization repeats, and then quietly recedes.“Ardent” is the longest of the movements and spans a wide range of musical emotion. Part of the movement is fast paced, energetic, and balances order and disarray. However, once the chaos dies down, a gentle, expressive theme comes in. The theme itself is very resolute; it is order appearing from the pandemonium. Conflict returns, and order and chaos become less distinguishable from one another, and soon fuse together. However, order returns with new meaning, synthesized with previous musical content, creating a truer, deeper sense of awareness or understanding. A moment of ambiguity arises, but the flute persists, supported by the sensitive but firm figuration in the piano, and resoundingly comes to a close, unburdened and at ease.