Partial Truths - Bass Clarinet Unaccompanied

For unaccompanied B-flat bass clarinet with low C extension.

Notes by the composer:

Partial Truths (1999) is my longest work for solo bass clarinet to date, part of my ongoing efforts to reflect on my own relationship to my instrument, and thus to music making in general. The title is deliberately ambiguous, but refers at least in part to acoustical ‘partials’ (overtones), in that the musical substance resides in the entire overtone spectrum rather than simply in the fundamentals. Melodies and harmonies rise out of the physical reality of the instrument, imply and insinuate, then merge back into the ether. It is dedicated to Arnold Dreyblatt.