Three Movements
for clarinet

Three movements for clarinet: This work was written in 1965. The three movements are set in traditional forms - the first two modelled on Baroque suite movements, and the last on a scherzo with a trio as middle section. The harmonic scheme, the melodic line and the phrasing are likewise basically traditional - that is to say "tonal", in the broad sense of the word. Accordingly, the work's uniqueness, and hence its raison d'être, does not follow from innovations in language and technique, but from its content. Moreover, the composer did not intend to demonstrate all the technical possibilities of the instrument, but rather to present the player with material in which the technical challenge is subservient to the musical expression.