by Vern Pat Nelson, opus 1 (1983-4)
NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!!
(new)
When I decided to write these pieces, my first serious compositions, I was
inspired by the great flute-&-piano sonatas of Prokoviev, Poulenc, and
Franck, that I had been performing with various flautists. And they have
been performed a lot... at least a dozen times in the San Francisco Bay Area
by me and JANET KUTULAS (whom you will hear on these wave files... see below
for interesting Janet Kutulas story*)... also by the Swiss flautist Piet
De Boer in New Haven, and the late great LEE GANNON in Austin, Texas. The
biggest problem with these pieces is that the PIANO PART is EXTREMELY
CHALLENGING. But I know you can find someone who can do it!
"Like dreams of Prokoviev and Poulenc, but motorized--rich, rambling, sensual
and fanciful..."---Elinor Armer
"Convincing, rich in invention, and varied in expressive content..."---Andrew
Imbrie
"He is some kind of genius."---Daniel Revenaugh (after hearing these
pieces)
1. Playing With Guns. Very high-energy
opening piece. Click on the flute below to hear the beginning of it:
2. Nipple Art. This is a fairly involved
rondo, which starts cute and pretty, like the excerpt recorded here; but
gets big, dark and stormy in the middle. Click to hear the beginning:
3. "They are sickness' breath..."
The beautiful slow movement. Everyone loves it... and it's not too hard to
play. Click to hear the beginning:
4. Knot-Slapping Music. This is a wild,
high-energy piece, which begins with a long flute solo that allows some room
for improvisation! (We have never performed it the same way twice.) Click
here to hear the end of the solo introduction, into the beginning of the
piece proper:
And you've GOT to hear how the whole piece ends, it's pretty exciting