Sean William Calhoun | Composer and pianist

The Sonata for Bassoon and Piano sets from the outset a dichotomy between D and Bb. Schism begins with the piano tolling fifths on D while the bassoon carves a slow melody in Bb. As the texture lightens, more divisions form, with the piano and bassoon frequently alternating playing, and triads vacillating between major and minor. In Afterimage, slow lines echo from one instrument to the other, a sort of unity achieved until the middle section when the piano fractures into flickering chords (often around Bb, D, or both). The final movement, Juncture, is rhythmic, and frequently brings D and Bb into rapid alternation, building energy until the final measures with the two key centers ricocheting between the bassoon and piano until one finally wins out.