Denny-Chambers - Cortejo de Aves

Cortejo de Aves by Kristen Denny-Chambers was the first prize winner in the post-collegiate category of the 2021 Clareidoscope Composition Competition, Cortejo de Aves, Spanish for “Courtship of Birds,” features grace notes and jumpy, bird-like gestures along with a variety of tempo shifts and characters—reminiscent of the style of Manuel de Falla. A beautiful, soaring melody is found in the middle of the piece, followed by a frenzied accelerando punctuated by a climactic flutter tongue gesture (the only extended technique featured in the otherwise tonal and tuneful phrases). With a modest range of the lowest E to Db just crossing into the altissimo register, the music is meant to be accessible to be performed using ANY clarinet in the clarinet family. Set in the key of Bb minor, Cortejo de Aves will challenge a developing player and will push advanced players in different ways.