Nocturnes (2020-2023) // 10'
A set of four concert etudes for solo clarinet. For advanced players! They can be played individually, but should be performed in this order if done together.
# 1 "Dream-Ride" The technical focus is on legato arpeggios that ascend across the break – a few famously tricky shapes are snuck into the etude, including the dominant 7th chords from Mozart and Weber concertos, as well as some shapes from Debussy.
# 2 "Don't look under the bed" A spooky, unrelenting bop focused on medium-speed articulation, especially in the upper clarion. It ends with a big multiphonic as the monsters wrestle the sleeper from their bed.
# 3 "Flying | Falling" The obligatory floating dream that ends with a jolt. The etude focuses on quiet entrances and releases of high notes, starting with our favorite pp Bb
# 4 "Too early, birds" Focusing on coordination between disparate fingers on opposite hands, (hello, fingers 3+4!), this etude uses lots of meter changes and rapid notes to evoke the morning birds.