Recording: Freda Hogan, Clarinet
I wrote Smile for myself, originally - not to play on bassoon (my primary instrument), but on clarinet. I don’t consider myself a clarinetist but I do have a couple years of untrained experience on the instrument (soprano, bass, and contra alto!), and I wanted to write a miniature work that would allow me to “flex” a bit while still being incredibly easy to play. "Smile” is a title I have wanted to use for years. The work’s primary motif, one of my favorite figures of music I’ve ever written, is something I wrote originally in a private work of music that I created during a very difficult time in my life, when I wasn’t smiling often. Since then, with the support of my loved ones and professional help, I’ve come to a much better mental place. With this thought in the forefront of my mind, and with the title “Smile” coming to mind once again, I chose to take my sad and reflective motif and send it through a prism, allowing new emotional colors to refract on the other side.
I found quickly after writing it for clarinet that, although it makes heavy use of the clarinet’s extensive range, it can also work quite well on other woodwind instruments. If you purchase this piece, you’ll receive multiple parts in different transpositions, making it possible to play the piece on flute, oboe, english horn, bassoon, any clarinet, and any saxophone (and potentially trombone or euphonium if you’re gutsy). If you want to play this work on a different instrument for which you don’t see the appropriate transposition or range, reach out to me and we’ll make it happen!