Robert Hughes

flute, cello

Sonitudes, written in December 1970, was commissioned by Gene Hambelton as a Christmas present for his wife Patrice, a very accomplished flutist, and for his son Craig, a talented young cellist. In its original form the movements made personal reference to the family and were hence a rather updated form of Gebrauchsmusik (“Scene for Gene,” “Plague for Craig” – so called due to its difficulty for the young cellist; “Lay for Gay” – the 13^th-century song form having a double entendre meaning for the teenage daughter, and “Caprice for Patrice”). In revising the work in 1971 for a wider audience, the titles were changed, and the introduction of quasi-Japanese influence was added (the “kokko” rhythm and supine koto position of the cello played on the floor with a drumstick). Amusingly enough, the possibilities of percussively playing a reclining cello were discovered by the composer while hiding behind that instrument during a nude improvisation session with the dance group “Berkeley Movers.” The rhapsodic second movement continues to be very difficult for the cello. The third movement, “Serenade,” is the most complicated of the pieces, the free-sounding cross rhythms requiring great care in their synchronization. The final “Caprice” was written as a technical tour de force for the flutist and must be one of the most difficult things around to perform. Due to the practice time required to master the flute part the piece has the aspect of an “etude,” yet the extension of its sonorities by the cello make it a serious concert piece, a “sonorous etude,” and, hence its title, Sonitudes. In 1974 the California Cello Club selected Sonitudes as one of their prizewinning compositions. The work was first recorded on the 1750 Arch label by Janet Millard and Loren Brown, winning accolades for its interest and techniques.