Sextet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, bass and piano

Composed
for my friends, Eric Le Sage and Paul Meyer for a New Year concert,
this Sextet was written with festivities and entertainment in mind.
The first movement ‘Dynamique’
is
a series of variations, which multiply the rhythmic processes
inherited from repetitive American music. The central ‘Nocturne’
section
is a soft and painful confidence sung by the clarinet amid a harmonic
backdrop of strings and piano. Finally, ‘Festif’
creates
a sense of joy and excitement (with an allusion to Schuberts
Trout).
The score ends with a cadential
joke.

The
Festival Finale is a great opportunity to explore for us unusual
combinations of musicians and repertoire while we have so many
amazing musicians staying with us in Bantry. We had a taste of
Guillaume Connesson’s explosive music two years ago with his
miniature Techno
Parade
for flute, clarinet and piano. His Festival Sextet is equally
exciting, with a bigger range of instruments but still driven forward
by a manic piano part with the extra weight of the three strings to
add depth. The clarinet leads with the melody in the quiet and gentle
Nocturne
over
a hushed summer nights accompaniment. The Festif
finale
is exactly as the composer describes.

Francis
Humphrys