Elegy for Clarinet

Elegy for Clarinet and Piano (2011)

To Rachel and Nathan

Performed by Sam Le Roux (Clarinet) and David Ridley (Piano).

In this piece I wanted to explore writing for the Clarinet, an instrument that I hadn't composed any solo works for before. The piece conveys a feeling of both loss and happiness, of times lost but remembered with fondness.

I tried to keep the Clarinet as lyrical as possible, juxtaposing the drone-like piano part, emphasising the difference between the contrasting feelings in the piece.

The piece is in a modified ternary form with a small cadenza at the end of the middle section. This cadenza allowed me to experiment with the impressive range of the Clarinet.