Eleanor Hovda
for flute, oboe, Bb clarinet, bassoon, horn in F
Commissioned by the Holland Festival for the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble
Snapdragon is written for the Nederlands Wind Ensemble, and was completed on May 19, 1993. I use the title Snapdragon because it refers to a game** where raisins are snatched from burning flames. I wanted to work with extremes of energy (from relaxed to intense-but-inward, to most extroverted, flung energy). I also wanted to work with the idea of excavating sounds from the bone and sinew of wind instruments: the expansions of single pitches, either fingered or otherwise altered, which can happen when extremes of breath control, additions of auxilllary keys and alternatve fingerings are used. I imagine the energy of watching the flames and then swiftly snatching at the raisins. I imagine the energy of both participating in the game and watching the action.
**a Victorian-era game played during the winter, particularly on Christmas eve
Click here to hear a recording by the Prism Players on the Eleanor Hovda Collection CD (Spotify).