Prelude and Passacaglia for Flute and Piano (2009)
Commissioned: Bryan Guarnuccio, flute
Premiere: Bryan Guarnuccio, flute, and Kevin Wilt, piano. Michigan State University, 2009
Duration: 6 minutes
Instrumentation: flute and piano
I composed PRELUDE AND PASSACAGLIA in collaboration with flutist Bryan Guarnuccio in the Spring of 2009. The idea behind the partnership, as well as the resulting piece, was to explore the various timbres and registers of the flute, while making it “fit well” under the fingers of the player.
The passacaglia theme is transformed through the traded variations into a new, longer, more lyrical melody carried by the flute (see Variations 16 and 17). It is this melody that provides the material for the prelude.
