Work Listing

Espresso Variations
I. Pre-Caffeine
II. Instant Coffee
III. Vienna Coffee
IV. Arabica
V. Ground: Coffee
VI. Caffe Americano

2018

Graeme Wright Denniss

(1954–)
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Description:

Coffee has taken over the world, with high quality coffee available from countless large and small cafés, and coffee carts and benchtop appliances everywhere. Current TV shows and movies always seem to have the actors holding takeaway cups of their favourite brews as they go about their business, and this is reflected in everyday life. The composer has been swept up with this worldwide trend, drinking many cups of espresso coffee while wrestling with this composition, which celebrates the addiction and obsession with this popular beverage.

Each variation is based on the four notes “C-A-F-E”, the French word for coffee, sometimes inverted or chromatically altered. The horn octet is divided into two quartets and is organised along orchestral lines, alternating high and low horns. At times, the players work together in eight parts, while at other places there are antiphonal effects between the two quartets. All bass clef notation is “new notation”, not written one octave lower.

1. “First Thing: Pre-Caffeine”: The music depicts the start of the day, awakening, before the sharp focus of the first dose of caffeine is administered. The melody is restricted to just the four notes, accompanied by pulsating harmonies.
2. “Instant Coffee”: The title refers more to the instant effect of the coffee rather than to the product by the same name, which is avoided as far as possible by the composer. Sudden energy is unleashed in 7/8, edgy and restless. 3. “Vienna Coffee”: Elegant cafés in the heart of the old empire serve rich coffee with cream and generous slices of torte, while musicians play waltzes for the enjoyment of the patrons, many of whom have lined up for over an hour to be allowed access to these hallowed places.
4. “Arabica”: The source of coffee nirvana is the coffee bean. Over a drone bass, the theme is given an Arabian twist with muted and altered sounds from the horns.
5. “Ground: Coffee”: Before finding its way into a cup, the coffee bean has to be roasted then ground. The ground bass was a popular device in the Baroque period, which interestingly coincides with the introduction of coffee to Western society, as exemplified by Bach’s Coffee Cantata.
6. “Caffe Americano”: Jazz rules in America, with the Finale to the series doing the Boogie, up-tempo and exhilarating, and at times rather chaotic due to caffeine overconsumption.

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Publication Details:

Self-published

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Espresso Variations
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Espresso Variations
I. Pre-Caffeine
II. Instant Coffee
III. Vienna Coffee
IV. Arabica
V. Ground: Coffee
VI. Caffe Americano
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