Circuit – Sonata for Clarinet in B♭ and Piano | Innocent Okechukwu

Description

Circuit is a concert sonata for clarinet and piano built on the octatonic scale, the eight-note scale that loops back on itself like a closed circuit. Across three movements it explores the whole clarinet, from the dark chalumeau to the brilliant altissimo, with the pianist as a true partner.

I. Live Wire. A long, yearning melody climbs out of the clarinet’s deepest register over rippling, Ravel-like piano writing. It surges into storms and singing arches before burning out in a last flash.

II. Static. A slow, almost spoken song over a rocking accompaniment. At its centre it breaks into crackle and interference in a free quasi-cadenza with multiphonics and key clicks, then fades into faint clicks in the silence.

III. Overload. The machine at full power: driving syncopations, irregular sevens, slap tongue, growl and flutter-tongue. A broad song soars over the drive before a final surge sends everything racing to the end.

Instrumentation: Clarinet in B♭ and PianoDuration: about 10½ minutesLevel: professional / advanced (DMA, recital, competition)Techniques: altissimo to written C7, flutter-tongue, glissando, multiphonics, key clicks, slap tongue, growlYear: 2026

Included: the complete performance edition, with full score, clarinet part, performance notes, a notation guide, and a fingering chart for the multiphonics.

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