Advice from a Caterpillar (from “Alice in Wonderland”)
Unsuk ChinPiece Duration: 6:45
About this Piece
The first interlude from Chin's opera, Alice in Wonderland, is a solo for bass clarinet! During this scene, the caterpillar plays the bass clarinet as he gives Alice some advice. The words he shares are not spoken! Instead, they are projected onto the stage as he plays. You can follow along with the words in the score video, and a staged version of the solo can be seen here (starting at 34:30)
Extended Techniques: To explore multiphonics and hear them demonstrated on their own, click here!
Non-Metric: Notice that this music does not have bar lines. Pauses between the soloist's musical phrases are marked with various types of rests, breath marks (apostrophes), and fermatas.
Notable Passages
Description:
Multiphonics are overblown notes that use specific finger patterns on the instrument, producing several pitches at once! Notice how a finger chart is provided over every multiphonic--this is required so the performer can play them correctly. To hear multiphonics demonstrated on their own, click the link above
Keywords: Extended Technique - Composition Technique , Extended Technique - Expressive Elements