Five accessible and fun miniatures and ideal for early recital repertoire. Written in a tonal and popular style they were premiered at Wells Cathedral School. Song is lyrical and melodic contrasting a lively and rhythmic Dance; Chorale is in the style of a 21st-century Bach, with a flowing contrapuntal accompaniment; Nursery Rhyme is a fun piece linking 'I had a little nut tree' with 'The Grand Old Duke of York'; and A Fish on a Bicycle is a light-hearted fusion of Schubert's The Trout with the Victorian ballad 'Daisy, Daisy'. Ideal for the intermediate bassist looking for new and interesting repertoire. Effective and inventive piano accompaniments add to the enjoyment of this suite.
"These short pieces form an interesting group for the intermediate player. Possibly too short to stand alone, a pair would make a good concert item. Song is in C minor mostly in the range up to a 5th from middle C. It is lyrical but would need some slurs adding in order to bring out the characteristic. Dance is a pretty movement in 3/4. Once again some phrasing indications in the bass part would have been welcomed. With no phrase marks or bowings I am left wondering whether it is intended that the bass line should reflect or contrast the very clear phrasing marks in the piano part.
Chorale lies on the G string up to A above middle C. It quotes Bach's 'Sacred Heart' chorale from the St. Matthew Passion with contrapuntal movement appearing in both the piano and bass parts. The final two miniatures Nursery Rhyme and Fish on a Bicycle are arrangements of 'I had a Little Nut Tree/The Duke of York' and 'A Bicycle made for Two/The Trout' respectively. The wit is clear in both of these arrangements but I think they might have been more useful written a 4th lower so as to make a better match of musical and technical sophistication. Whatever the key, however, I am sure audiences will enjoy these piece." [ESTA - News & Views]
Humphrey Clucas was born in 1941 and read English at King's College, Cambridge, where he was also a Choral Scholar. Having taught English for twenty-seven years he subsequently became a Lay Vicar at Westminster Abbey but is now retired.
As a composer he is self taught, and although he is well-known for a set of Anglican Responses written as an undergraduate, almost all his serious music has been written over the last twenty-five years. He has a growing reputation as a choral composer and has produced an impressive and steady stream of choral works, both sacred and secular, alongside much instrumental music. He has written works for Cathedrals in Chichester, Guildford, Salisbury and Winchester, as well as for King's College, Cambridge, Southwell Minster and Westminster Abbey.
