88 minutes
2020

Written for Rob Haskins and Margaret Herlehy, this work provided another opportunity to simply revel in the sound of the oboe. After writing a 50-minute piece for piano and string quartet in which the instruments play in perfect unison the entire time, it is perhaps not surprising that the first 45 minutes of this work for oboe and piano contain just one pitch class (B). During this time, the oboe thoroughly explores a single pitch (B4) in terms of tuning, articulation, vibrato, etc., while the piano provides a backdrop that systematically expands and accelerates and then contracts and decelerates. After the piano reminds us of the existence of other notes (a palate [and palette] cleanser), a series of rich sound blocks separated by extended silences occupy the remainder of the piece—which ends with the oboe back on B (B5 this time).