Three Four-Note Flute Duets, Op.448b, by John D. McDonald
Contemporary Composition for Two Flutes, PDF $2.99
"Composed for Ethel Farny and her flute students at the Rivers Music School, these short duets sprout initially from the first flute/violin duet of Several Strands, Op. 448a. This Grazioso is indeed made from only four pitches. Similarly, Murmurando confines itself to a four-note knot until its final dyad. The third duet, Con Eleganza, stretches the four-note concept a bit more. Each instrument has its own four-pitch pattern, and a coda leaves the four-note idea behind all together, concluding the set with six slower, somewhat more chromatic bars that could very well lead to future music of more emotional complexity. Perhaps there will be more duets to come." ― John McDonald, November 2009
John McDonald is a member of The Mockingbird Trio, directs the Tufts Composers Concert Series, and serves on the boards of several performance organizations in New England. He has recently fulfilled commissions from The Chamber Orchestra of Boston, pianist David Holzman, The Firebird Ensemble (for an Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music Residency, with support from a Meet the Composer MetLife Creative Connections Award), and the ANA Trio (Fredonia University; soprano, cello, and piano), among others. Recent performances by McDonald at the Goethe Institut of Boston, at Tufts, and at many other venues have been highly acclaimed.
Score for Two Flutes, 2 pages; Total, 4 pages.