Answers

Lawton Hall

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Sextet

2023

13 min.

Bassoon

Clarinet

Oboe

Program Notes: Answers is a piece for two trios of oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Musical material is passed between the two halves of the ensemble and between individual players, recalling the antiphonal works of Venetian Renaissance composers, the characteristic call-and-response of blues and gospel, and echo effects in electronic music. Ironically, each movement of Answers ends with a musical question mark. Despite scientific advances, global communication, and unprecedented access to information, many of the most pressing problems facing the modern world seem increasingly intractable. Finding agreement on answers to climate change, disease, and inequality can feel like a fantasy when confronted with polarization, tribalism, and ignorance. Answers is a set of antiphons for this precarious moment in the anthropocene.
Recording Notes: Recorded at the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute Petoskey, Michigan
Ensemble Name: Kaden Klein and Tim Gocklin, oboes; Emily Geoffroy and Tyler Tashdjian, clarinets, Kenny Kriha and Ryan Reynolds, bassoons