Rory Boyle: Burble [download]

For solo clarinet  (duration 6 mins)

“Burble was commissioned by, and written for the young clarinettist Fraser Langton whilst he was doing his Master's degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and who gave the premiere in Cardiff in January 2012. Two possible definitions of the word burble are a gurgling or bubbling sound and a rapid excited flow of speech both of which are portrayed in the music in various ways. One of several extended techniques used in the piece is the use of alternative fingerings which the composer first used in his bassoon concerto, That Blessed Wood, but who’s tonal and colouristic possibilities are explored more fully here thanks to a comprehensive list throughout the range of the clarinet researched by Fraser Langton. Extreme leaps and rapid figurations using a variety of articulations also feature extensively in the piece which falls into three main sections. Burble was nominated in the Solo/Duo category of the 2012 British Composer Awards.