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Music for Mel and Nora (1976) |
oboe and piano - 7'
Music for Mel & Nora was written in December 1979 for the oboist Melinda Maxwell who commissioned the work, with funding from the Arts Council.
It is a short virtuosic 'toccata' like piece which exploits the distinct sonority of oboe and piano in unison with each other. Gradually, the oboe takes on its own separate identity, elaborating and decorating the relentless piano figuration and driving the music towards the main climactic point. This explodes into a brief coda section which features rapid 'double tonguing' techniques for oboe against shimmering repeated note textures from the keyboard.
The piece is jointly dedicated to Melinda Maxwell and the American oboist Nora Post who gave the US premiere in 1980.
© Simon Bainbridge