1(=picc).1.1(=Ebcl).bcl-1.1.btrbn.0-perc(3)-synth-strings(1.1.1.1.1 or small complements)
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Boosey & Hawkes (Hendon Music)
Blue Like an Orange expresses many shades of the blues: melancholy, spiritual, satirical, brooding, humorous. The composition follows the traditional four-bar phrase structure of the blues and passes solos from bass clarinet to horn to cello to trombone to synthesizer to strings and finally to timpani, which also provides a reiterated bass line throughout the piece. The ensemble is enclosed by two chime players who create celestial counterpoint. While Blue Like an Orange is inspired by the innumerable blues in G minor, by the end of the composition it has metamorphosed into something quite different.
— Michael Daugherty
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This program note may be reproduced free of charge in concert programs with a credit to the composer.