Traveller

for
bassoon
By Connor Martin Lidell

program notes:

In designing Traveller, I had a certain idea in mind: to create a solo work for bassoon that would encompass many
of its lesser-explored regions. Some might be less than idiomatic, but they are certainly workable and enjoyable. I decided,
going in, that I wanted to explore all of the ranges the bassoon had to offer, but not to spend any too much time in one
particular place. So, this brought me the idea of a child. I pictured a small kid with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) roaming
a forest and finding something that caught his eye. This kid would chase after this elusive creature (maybe a bunny!) and
eventually, after a few unsuccessful attempts, catch the creature! Of course, once caught, what do you do with it? A dog
finally catches his tail, what does he do then? This is where the piece lies. An exploration of what happens when a musical
idea gets chased and stretched around. When it has no more developing to do, it lets itself go. Back to the musical
metaphor, the kid finally catches his creature; he wonders what he can do with it. Finding nothing of particular importance
except the fact that he caught it, he turns back around to find the creature gone! Wait! Where did it go? The kid searches
frantically and gets very frustrated and upset. The musical ideas of the walking through the woods (the bouncy theme) and
the major and minor seventh leaps up and down (from the sweeter, introspective section) are developed in almost !sonata"
fashion. The boy eventually gives up. His ADD takes over, and he loses his train of thought. Of course, this means he goes
back to what he was doing before: bouncing through the woods. The musical idea here is that of recapitulation and modified
statement. In the end, the kid ends up having a joyous time not giving a care that he never really achieved anything except
the journey.

special symbols and structure:

First off, there are no bar-lines in this piece. This means that the performer should take liberty with phrasing and with the actual musical
context. You are making it yourself, in a way. There are some passages that are near impossible to play at the exact speed I have posted. So,
remember, tempo markings are guidelines for speed of the section as a whole, not necessarily as a pulse. I have provided guidelines in English to
help the performer follow the program explained above. This can help you piece together the ideology of the piece as well as the musicality since
they are intertwined. I have also provided more concrete guides such as tempo markings meant to be taken as the general pace of each section.
Here are the rest of the details with graphic representation.

Grace Notes should come before the beat. Always. But, still just before the beat as an ornament.
Tenuto markings are meant to provide emphasis and time given to a particular note. Really allow yourself to enjoy the timelessness of the
piece.
All other conventional markings are to be taken as traditional. Accents are emphasis with harsh release. Staccato markings are sharp attack
and release with half the value of the note played. Slurred passages should be under one tongue phrase.
An italic phrase followed by a straight line: indicates that the section within the line should be played with that kind of
emotion or feeling. Not necessarily with
action, but that the notes emulate that type of feeling, and to change tempo or emphasis appropriately. The same applies to a generic italic
word, but in that case it is not so controlled and more sectional and general.
Tuplet figures (in meterless time) do not really have a
defined speed; however, they are written to imply a
temporary increase in speed or decrease in speed with
added syncopation (depending on the tuplet).
An italic phrase followed by a dotted line implies a
change in speed in the phrase.
Humming into the reed in order to distort pitch is
akin to fluttertongue; however, on the double reed, the effect
somewhat forces the pitch down an octave.
This is intentional and it is notated as such:


Accelerandos and ritardandos are
notated with feathered beaming:



Apostrophe marks are meant to be short pauses; cesura marks are meant to be longer pauses.
You should play these notes as fast as possible in any order. No particular order.
The overblowing should go up and down freely. Should sound almost like a slide whistle but really low.
This repeat should be as fast as possible, but in the exact order presented if possible.
Each performer"s highest note will vary.
Do what you can. Realize it is an effect.
This should be personalized.
let your pitch fluctuate and
maybe resemble the overblowing sound
but with more grunge to it.





slower faster
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Traveller
Connor Lidell
Copyright 2011 by Connor Martin Lidell
for bassoon
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pondering
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blurt out ugly noise.
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2
Traveller