Fred Jacobowitz asked me to consider writing something he could play with his wife Bonnie Thron. He noted that there are several couples in the area of clarinetists married to cellists, so it seemed like a very good idea. So, this piece is dedicated to Fred and Bonnie. There were originally three movements, but after the premiere Bonnie and Fred asked me to add a finale.

Any of the four movements can stand alone in performance; the first and last are especially well-suited for this.

About Ananda Sonata

Ananda-Eric Pritchard asked me to write a violin sonata for his recitals early in 2008, and as I had none in my catalog, it sounded like a very good idea. One of my early compositions was a sonata for violin and piano, written during my first year of college (1973 at Eastman), but it was immature and derivative and has not survived. This work, on the other hand, is fully mature and ready for consumption.

I'm not by nature a programmatic composer, so the first movement is not intended to have a literal title; however I've had a pretty tough time much of my life and in some way, a good deal of my music cannot help but reflect some of this. After I had written most of the first movement that it seemed right to call it "Hard Times". The second movement is intended as a kind of mantra; quite a few of my works are best heard with a repeated series of words mentally set to the music, and this is no exception. Since Ananda is involved with Sufism, it was most appropriate to use Allah as the mantra. And the last movement started off in 12 but then I knocked off a note leading to 11 per measure, then decided to continue the prime number meter idea and ended up with most meters in 5, 7, 11, and 13. In addition there are some fancy compound rhythms and some tricky playing, especially for the piano. The technical requirements for the first movement are moderate and the middle is easy, but the last movement does require real proficiency. If this results in only the first or second movements, or both, being performed at a future concert, this is perfectly acceptable.

About Clarinet Sextet

I have written two chamber works previous to this including clarinet; Quartet for a New Beginning, for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and Grand Serenade. These combinations worked well for the kind of music that I write. While most of my chamber music includes piano, sometimes I like to get away from it for a bit. At first I intended to write a clarinet quintet for the usual clarinet and string quartet, but from the first few measures the music insisted on an extra cello. So-I went with the flow.

For no particular reason, the tempo markings are all taken from food. Except for the first movement's "Adagio con queso", none give an idea as to tempo, requiring musicians to refer to the metronome markings, which I much prefer.

1. I Overture (Allegro) from Grand Serenade
2. II Romantic Interlude (Largo) from Grand Serenade
3. III Serious Scherzo (Capo di tutti Capi slow Trio Tempo I) from Grand Serenade
4. IV Grand Finale with Loose Canons (Allegro con brouhaha) from Grand Serenade
5. I Hard Times (Allegro non troppo) from Ananda Sonata
6. II Allah (Adagio alla mantra) from Ananda Sonata
7. III Prime Times (Eighly Eccentric) from Ananda Sonata
8. I A Small Still Voice (Adagio con queso) from Clarinet Sextet
9. II Faster Higher Louder (Paprika) from Clarinet Sextet
10. III Curious Interlude (Oregano I Oregano II) from Clarinet Sextet
11. IV A Fearful Earful (Gorgonzola) from Clarinet Sextet

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 9/15/2016
Bill Robinson lives in North Carolina USA

Tagged as: Classical, Contemporary, Neoclassical, Instrumental, Cello, Clarinet, Classical Piano, Violin

1. Music of Fernando Sor by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
2. Alma de Cuerda (Soul of String) by La Reverie: Recreating traditional music from a modern perspective
3. The Early Sessions by Ray Montford: Evocative, melodic and haunting instrumental guitar music
4. Guinevere by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
5. Meditative Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
6. Prospects by Chris Juergensen: Crystalline Jazz Guitar
7. Brian Bunker Trio by Brian Bunker Trio: A riotous romp through the worlds of jazz, classical and rock
8. Bach Cello Suites on 8 String Guitar by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
9. JS Bach on 8 string guitar, vol 1 by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
10. Classical Ukulele by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
11. Vivaldi Concertos on 8-string guitar by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
12. Ravel on Guitar and Ukulele by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
13. Debussy on Guitar and Ukulele by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
14. The Christmas Album by AlmaNova: lively flute/guitar duo
15. Holiday Frost by Cari Live: thoughtful expressions through intelligent new age
16. 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime by Steve Eulberg: smile-inducing, toe-tapping folkgrass
17. Two Bridges Crossing by Osamu Kitajima and Chris Mancinelli: pan pacific ambient dance masters
18. Hope by Kendra Springer: lyrical piano music to lift your spirits
19. 4 by Jasmine Brunch: a secret garden of lucid musical dreams
20. CD1-Bach Cello Suites by Vito Paternoster: cellist extraordinaire

• MP3: High quality MP3 variable-bit-rate files. Most people download these: they are audiophile files that play everywhere.
• ALAC: Perfect quality Apple Lossless format files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, get these. They're an exact audio copy of the original CD, and include the CD artwork and artist info. This is the same format as High Definition audio provided by the iTunes store.
• AAC: High quality Apple Audio Codec files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, these files sound great and include CD art and artist info. This is the standard format provided by the iTunes music store.
• WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
• FLAC Perfect quality open source FLAC files. This is an open source audio format. It is an exact copy of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• OGG: High quality open source OGG files. This is an open source audio format. It is a compressed (smaller file size) version of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• 128k: Medium quality 128K MP3 files. These are medium audio quality MP3 files that will work on every device. The audio quality is good enough for most uses. These files are intended for cases where you want to conserve disk space.