Elegies, Op. 82

The 6 Elegies of Wolfgang Gabriel (1930-) are an outstanding set of performance pieces for bass clarinet and piano duo. The work was originally conceived as a set of songs for soprano and piano, based on original poems by the composer. The composer restructured the work for bass clarinet and piano as a result of his collaboration with Duo Alea. As with Gabriel's other works for bass clarinet, the full range of the bass clarinet is used lyrically, requiring some comfort with the altissimo register. These pieces would make an excellent addition to a recital program.