PRELUDE Op.51

The piece is exactly what I hoped it would be. Although I am an amateur who never be able to play it at the level it deserves, I look forward to available for my own enjoyment. The service was prompt and excellent, especially given that I order from overseas and this piece is not available here.

This is a beautifully tender and lyrical piece of music by a composer now gaining much deserved recognition. It works wonderfully on the bass clarinet and much of it is written in the upper and even altissimo registers, both areas of the instrument that all players need to work on to produce a warm and even tone. There are some passages that extend into the fruity low notes too, with ossias if you have a low C bass.
'Prelude' is not technically difficult but requires a great deal of breath control, control of legato, phrasing and variety of tone. As a bass clarinet player in a UK symphony orchestra, and a teacher in a conservatoire, I would recommend this piece for any player wishing to develop these aspects of their bass clarinet playing. It would work well on the Bb clarinet too for the same reason (but I think it should really be played on the bass...!) At just 5 minutes long it would fit into most recital programmes as a lovely lyrical interlude, or even an opener. There is a very good performance of it by Mark O'Brien of the CBSO available on YouTube.