Forest Pipings
A Diptych for Flute Ensemble
1.Night Calm
2. Sun Break
Forest Pipings, A Diptych for Flute Ensemble, was composed in 1989 for Kathy Levy and the Wake Forest University Flute Choir (Kathy Levy, Director). It is scored for a flute ensemble of seven (C) Flutes (one doubling on Piccolo), one (G) Alto Flute and an optional (C) Bass Flute. Though the piece may be performed in normal concert fashion, Forest Pipings is conceived of as a spatial composition. The spatial affect is best achieved by spreading the players out in the concert hall so that the flutists surround the audience as much as possible. In two movements, the first, entitled Night Calm, is marked “Tranquil.” A feeling of serenity is evoked as a brief and gentle melody emerges from the sustained texture of the piece. Over the course of the movement this melodic line is passed around to all instruments of the ensemble. Near the end of the movement, the melodic material of the second movement, Sun Break, is previewed. Marked “Quick and dancelike,” the energetic melodic material of this movement immediately begins to unfold. It is eventually imitated in strict canonic fashion by all instruments of the ensemble, eventually bringing the piece to an exciting conclusion.
Timings:
1.Night Calm = ca. 3’
2.Sun Break = ca. 2’
Total duration = ca. 5’
Dan Locklair
Winston-Salem, NC
January 1989