Au Contraire!

As a composer who plays the euphonium I often find that my peers and I are victims of the misconception that bass instruments are not capable of agility, grace, or, in some cases, musicality. Au contraire! While the standard is to teach bass instruments to support the “more able” ones we are more than capable. I was finally given the exigency to write a work disproving these thoughts when contrabassoon enthusiast Kristen Lichtenthal said I should write a work for her instrument. This work has two basic ideas: the first is to display the virtuosity capable of a contrabassoon, the second is to offer a light-hearted touch to an instrument typically brought in for more serious-natured works. Although this work was originally intended for contrabassoon but I have no qualms about it being performed on bassoon. - Matthew Nunes Orlando, April 2014