Deep blue and dirty for bassoon and piano was commissioned by the bassoonist Mark Gaydon and composed in the first half of 2011. The work is a set of double variations in which two connected themes are heard, one after the other at the start of the work, and then variations on each theme occur. In total there are nine variations – four on the first theme and four on the second with the final (ninth) variation being on both themes at once. All of this happens without interruptions so that the overall work unfolds as the piece moves between the two themes. The work’s title, Deep blue and dirty, gives a clue to the mood of the two themes.  The work explores the full range of the bassoon and makes use of trills, slides and long sustained passages suited to circular breathing.

© Andrew Schultz, 2011