Regal Variations

This piece was composed for the Ballif Duo, consisting of Kristi Ballif, flute and Adam Ballif, clarinet. The inspiration for the work was Edward Elgar's 'Enigma Variations'. Elgar created a marvelous set of variations that treat the theme symphonically by varying the motivic ideas instead of just keeping the form of the theme constant and building the variations on that structure. The result is a set of variations that are connected, yet varied in mood. & 'Regal Variations' is smaller in both instrumentation and the number of variations, but it tries to capture the symphonic quality of Elgar's work. The title is an anagram of Elgar's name. This piece was recorded by the Ardente Duo on the Emeritus label Hep Cats CD.