A Little Book of Duos

From the composer, Rob Keeley:

For many years I’ve been fascinated by the two-voice medium; one can express one’s thoughts with greater clarity and economy when there are only two lines to hear.

Quite apart from the highly practical purpose of the wind duo as a medium, my friend Victoria Samek has encouraged me to explore it at length. Therefore, in this set, A Little Book of Duos, there are five such examples.

The two alto saxophone pieces are both rather gentle, even ‘domesticated’ and amiable in character, as befits two identical instruments perhaps, with much unison and imitative writing.

The other three, however exploit the considerable tonal and registral differences between the E flat clarinet and tenor sax: the combative ‘Duel’ needs no explanation.

However, the ‘Cortège’ is a deeply-felt, rather complex piece, appropriate to the legacy of its dedicatees, my friends Jane Manning and Anthony Payne.

The final Scherzo, on the other hand, is as expected much lighter and playful in tone.

A Little Book of Duos were composed in 2021, and written as a commission from Victoria Samek and Chris Jolly during Covid. They were first performed on Zoom as part of an online clarinet and saxophone performance course.

The world premiere recording by Victoria Samek (From 1 to 5, CC0086) is available on Clarinet & Saxophone Classics here, iTunes and all major streaming platforms.

“A Little Book of Duos” is also available in printed edition from June Emerson Wind Music.

Listen on Apple Music