Cannon: Caoine (Lament)

 Grade: Advanced

Philip Cannon (b.1929) is one of Britain's senior and most respected composers and has always followed a strongly independent path throughout a long and successful career. His musical style is always personal and distinctive, never following the vagaries of fashion, and Caoine [pronounced: keen] is a dramatic, lyrical, passionate and impressive work for unaccompanied double bass. Caoine utilises much of the range of the instrument offering musical and technical challenges in equal measure. There is scope to create a range of textures and timbres and this has much to commend it to the serious advanced bassist.

The composer writes: ' Caoine (pronounced keen) is a lyrical piece, inspired by a recording I once heard of Frantisek Posta's grippingly expressive style of playing and interpretation. The title is a celtic word for lament.
In this case the passionate celtic element is projected by an intense free-flowing and often highly decorated melodic line, underpinned by sporadic intimations of a triple drone on the lower strings which, in effect forms a basic anchor to the piece. It uses practically the entire range of the instrument as well as occasional pizzicati and harmonics which combine at the end in a brief mysterious coda.
Caoine can be academically analysed as being in free ternary form, but it was written to sound as a spontaneous and expressive improvisation.'

Caoine is dedicated to David Heyes who gave the premiere at Wells Cathedral School (Somerset) on 7 October 2001.

Despatch time for this item is 4-5 working days.

Publisher: Recital Music

RM203

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