Alan Smith

3 Short Pieces for Woodwind

Score and parts for flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat and Bassoon. Three Short Pieces for Woodwind was composed in 2004 as an entry for the 60x60 competition organised by Vox Novus, who were looking to promote 60 pieces each lasting no more than 60 seconds. As part of the competition selection process, the Three Pieces were broadcast on WBAR Radio, New York in August 2004. Subsequently, Nocturne (the second of the pieces) was chosen for performance in various European concerts organised by Vox Novus. The obvious challenge in composing these pieces was finding a way of stating an idea and developing it within the span of one minute. For the first piece, I adopted a neo-Baroque style, writing a fairly strict fugue, complete with stretto, pedal point etc. The second piece is a complete contrast to the first, exploiting long, sustained melodic lines. The final piece is different again, making use of almost percussive rhythms and assymetric time signatures.