Description
The titular confusion of this work came about in this way: the tunes first appeared in a 1991 musical I wrote based on Moliere’s Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid). Lacking faith in the musical but liking the tunes, I fashioned a few of them into the symphony – a comic symphony. Yet, it seemed to lack luster. When the opportunity came to write a work for my friend and fellow Snark Ensemble performer Ben Redwine, I decided what the material lacked was a solo voice. The tunes are still there, but now greatly elaborated and expanded upon. The final work is still very much a symphony – and no other title seems to suit it – but symphonies are generally for orchestra. Still, the size and the instrumentation for the form we call “symphony” have varied greatly over the years, so perhaps it’s the nature of the music that makes it a symphony and not the scoring.
– Maurice Saylor
Solo Parts Included: Clarinet
