Echo of the Spheres

For Double Reed Choir. By Daniel Baldwin. Composer's Notes: Over the years I have had the opportunity to annually attend the convention where I have had many of my compositions performed. These performances gave me the idea of putting on a large bassoon ensemble recital at an IDRS convention and writing a piece for this performance. I was pleased to have my proposal accepted and to present such a performance at the 40th IDRS convention at Arizona State University. Echo of the Spheres is based on a poem by Lord Byron. My goal was to compose something completely new; a piece specifically designed to be a festival piece for bassoon day events. These bassoon days are an annual occurrence at colleges and universities across the United States. The composition is divided into four choirs of quartets: Choir 1, 2, and 4 are for college and high school age players. Quartet 3 is designed to be played by beginning and middle school age players. The piece is in overture form and designed to be similar to a high school band piece, which should be familiar to younger performers and easy to put together. There are appropriate challenges throughout the piece, but it maintains a high degree of accessibility. It is my hope that Echo of the Spheres will become a regular annual closing number for bassoon festivals. I had the honor to conduct the premiere of Echo of the Spheres on June 2nd, 2011 at the 40th Annual IDRS Convention at Arizona State University. This double reeds ensemble version was made at the request of Beth Giacobassi for the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Double Reed Day and was premiered at the event on November 5, 2011.