Chamber Music Bass Flute,
Piano
SKU:
PR.114418900
Composed
by Daniel Dorff. Set of
Score and Parts. 24+8
pages. Duration 14
minutes. Theodore Presser
Company #114-41890.
Published by Theodore
Presser Company
(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,â€
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.
The 
