This quartet takes some playing! The scope of the whole piece is substantial, dexterity and flexible doubling skills are needed by all players and the style is somewhat elusive. The opening Incantation is meditative and chant-like with sporadic flashes of light. The following L'Hesitante is more conventional in style with cascades of notes and some unison in the rhythm and this is followed by Musique de nuit which is full of dark colours. Both the Intermezzo and the closing Scherzo will text techincal and ensemble skills again. The contrabass flute could be replaced by another ordinary bass and the resulting loss of depth would be worth it to place the quartet within the range of more advanced groups. Serious music for serious players!
The Cinq Bagatelles for four flutes, composed in 1980, take up where Castérède left off nearly 20 years earlier with his Flûtes en vacances. The composer requires a whole assortment of instruments, varying from movement to movement and included everything from piccolo to contrabass. Stylistically, these Bagatelles range from the strangely archaic sounds of the opening movement to the frilly neo-Classicism of the closing Scherzo.
In five movements: Incantation, L'hésitante, Musique de nuit, Intermezzo, Scherzo
Instrumentation:
Winner: NFA Newly Published Music Awards 2022
Performance duration (approx): 17'
