Woodwind
Woodwind works by Katy Abbott: solo and duo pieces for flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone and bassoon; graded teaching repertoire to advanced, professional recital works, and chamber music for winds. Scores and parts are linked with each piece.
Works on AMEB and VCE/HSC woodwind lists, with grade levels, are on the school music repertoire page.
Solo and Duo Woodwind
Still
(2020)
Clarinet in Bb and piano
Duration: 5:30 minutes
Commissioned by Australia Ensemble for David Griffiths and Ian Munro.
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Performance Watch the Australia Ensemble perform Still – with interviews with performers and composer.
UndercurrenT
(2011)
Soprano Saxophone + Piano
Duration: 11:40 minutes
Appears on HD Duo’s disc Incandescence (Tall Poppies Records) Commissioned by HD Duo.
UndercurrenT II is an arrangement for trumpet, trombone and electric guitar.
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Autumn Song
(1996/rev.2001)
Saxophone + Piano
Duration: 4 minutes
Autumn Song
(1996/rev.2001)
Oboe + Piano
Duration: 4 minutes
Autumn Song
(1996/rev.2001)
Flute + Piano
Duration: 4 minutes
Autumn Song
(1996/rev.2001)
Clarinet + Piano
Duration: 4 minutes
Also available for flute, oboe and saxophone/s.
https://youtu.be/T9Dfp25VSnk?si=1DNJZmyY71KmBxCC
Valentine
(2011)
Flute + Piano
Duration: 5 minutes
Valentine
(2011)
Tenor Sax + Piano
Duration: 5 minutes
Commissioned by Stewart Taylor for his wife Mary Taylor.
Also available for flute + piano
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Stop Talking
(2017)
Flute and Whispered Voice
Duration: 2 minutes
”’Stop Talking is from Hidden Thoughts: Do I Matter? for solo flute with voice accompaniment. As the vocal part is whispered, it can be performed by any voice or by one or more voices.
The anonymous text was written by a female aged 75+, who said she wished she could say these words to her grown-up children: ‘Stop talking, just stop talking’.
Coming soon (please contact for advance copy)
MultiSonics!
(2010)
Solo Bassoon
Duration: 10 minutes
Composed for Mark Gaydon (bassoon). Also available for saxophone.
Advanced level.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott.
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Egyptian Wish
(2001)
Soprano Saxophone + Electronics
Duration: 7 minutes
Also available as Soprano Saxophone Trio.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott.
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Woodwind Chamber Music
Making Angels
(2001)
Flute + Clarinet in Bb + Piano
Duration: 7 minutes
Composed for New York Composers Ensemble.
This work has a companion piece: Music for Demons (2010).
Also available for piano trio.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott
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Performance at 28:19 by Juventus New Music Ensemble
Music for Demons
(2010)
Flutes/s, Bass Clarinet in Bb + Piano
Duration: 8 minutes
This work is a companion piece for Making Angels (2001)
This piece is based on a painting by Matthew Quick from his Pure Series titled Pure Obsession where digital looking space-invaders descend from the clouds.
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From the program of the premiere of Music for Demons.
Alcoholism, Chocoholism, Overeating, Bulimia, Sex Addiction, Drug Addiction, Kleptomania, Excessive Excercies, Caffine Cravings, Cigarettes, Gambling, Shoe Shopping, High-adrenalin sports, Self-help Books, Video Games – we human beings struggle each day with a colourful and voluminous number of addictions, some rather innocent, others highly dangerous – inner demons we must all do battle with.
Katy Abbott’s Music for Demons, written for Syzygy Ensemble as a companion piece to Making Angels, comments upon the ability of human nature to become easily obsessed, with a particular focus on the mesmerising pull of computer games. Playing video games can be a very hypnotic activity and without any obvious break in the pathways of the game, the player can feel persuaded to continue, often well into the night, torn between stopping and continuing play. Consciously choosing to stop playing becomes difficult.
Abbott has created musical pathways in Music for Demons to reflect this theme, particularly in the quirky dance-like section towards the end, which draws the listener in by the seemingly repetitive patterns, with no real way of knowing when the end is in sight.
Coady Green, 2010
Egyptian Wish
(2001)
Soprano Saxophone Trio
Duration: 7 minutes
Composed for Barry Cockcroft.
Also available for Solo Soprano Saxophone and CD.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott.
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Earth Lullaby
(2017)
Shakuhachi + String Quartet
Duration: 10 minutes
Commissioned by and composed for Enigma Quartet + Riley Lee.
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Culturally, we have lost the art of trusting our intuition as individuals or a group. This piece requires the musicians to trust their own instincts as well as each other’s sense of musicality. It requires trust ideally with one instrument not being more ‘present’ than another.
The musical and human elements must interlock in order to function fully.
Our environment – the Earth, is a most wonderful role model.
The Empty Quarter
(2008)
Percussion Duo + Cello
Duration: 15 minutes
Commissioned by Collision Theory.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott.
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Sunburnt Aftertones
(2001/rev.2010)
Mixed Sextet
Duration: 5 minutes
Composed for Zurich Ensemble of New Music, ANAM young composers seminar.
Appears on Sunburnt Aftertones: The Chamber Music of Katy Abbott.
Representing the intense and sometimes unrelenting heat of the Australian Summer, Sunburnt Aftertones was composed as a commission for the Dorian Le Gallienne Prize for Composition 2001.
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