£10.95
With duos for bass clarinet and piano being few and far between, this 'Little Suite' shows the solo instrument in various moods: good-naturedly bucolic in 'Country Tune', nostalgically heartfelt in 'Lullaby', and dashingly debonair in the 'Waltz'. 'Country Tune' is an imaginary folk song reminiscent of 'Morris Dance' and of the Somerset countryside where the piece was composed. 'Lullaby' is in effect a retrospective lullaby, a final singing to sleep of the childhood of the composer's daughter, who had recently undergone that mysterious metamorphosis from child to fascinating young woman, which must have been a source of wonder to fathers since time began. The suite ends with a bravura 'Waltz', a favourite dance form of the composer's. Premiered by the dedicatee, Verity Butler, accompanied by Jane Dodd, at Cheltenham Town Hall on the 22nd April 1997. For secondary schools, colleges, conservatories and professionals.
