Peaceful, tranquil and introspective – until a surprise pointillistic episode interrupts the serenity! The ABBG instrumentation creates a beautiful sound, making the blurry dissonances pleasing and the consonant chords even more sparkling. The piece is slow, marked Adagio throughout, giving a nice breathing challenge to the low instruments. No notes are too long to hold, and there are plenty of rests to help along the way – the composer’s live multitrack recording shows us how easy it is! All parts are a single page and sit comfortably in their mid-low range; Alto players even get a bonus low F# or two. Accidentals are served up freely, as are articulation markings such as staccato and tenuto where the contrast in note length is essential to the storytelling. As a further aid to the performance, the composer adds helpful “Solo/Soli/Lead” and “ord.” (= ordinary) instructions to show the players when they should bring out the melody, and when they are background support. This is a great excuse to get yourself a great bass!