Ballet Suite for Three Clarinets
Douglas Townsend
About this work:
This composition has four dance movements preceded by a miniature overture. The entire composition is in the style of a surreal ballet. It is lively and accessible. Each part is moderately difficult, with no part being overshadowed by another part. Primarily tonal, with more instrumental color than one usually expects from three similar instruments. "Ballet Suite" world premiered in Carnegie Recital Hall on March 10, 1956; and was most recently performed by Naomi and Stanley Drucker and Amy Shapiro of the American Chamber Ensemble at Hofstra Univ., Axinn Library, Hempstead, Long Island, NY on September 23, 2007. Described in the NYTimes as "fresh and decorative music" (3/11/56), the reviewer for the NY Herald Tribune elaborated: "The chortling, swaying Ballet Suite . . . had fantasy and charm, such as might be ascribed to a performance by marionettes." (3/11/56) Published by C.F. Peters.
Year composed: 1954
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 3 Clarinet