Olly Wilson: Echoes

for clarinet and pre-recorded electronics.

Echoes was commissioned by the clarinetist Phillip Rehfeldt and the composer Barney Childs in 1974 as part of a project to stimulate the composition of contemporary chamber music for “clarinet and friend” (i.e. clarinet and piano, clarinet and electronic tape, etc.). As the titles implies, Echoes is based on a continuous interaction between the clarinet and the electronic sound source which share common pitches, timbres, and musical gestures, while simultaneously developing a larger musical shape. The work contains three organically related sections which gradually evolve from one another in a single continuous movement. The tape portion was produced at the University of California, Berkeley, Electronic Music Studio. In performance, the output of the clarinet is amplified and mixed with that of the pre-recorded electronic tape which is then projected from multiple speakers, placed on the stage or (ideally) around the hall. The work was given its premiere by Phillip Rehfeldt at Redlands University in January 1975, and is recorded by Mr. Rehfeldt on CRI SD 367.

— Olly Wilson