Ninth in a set of "atmospheric pictures" for varied combinations of solo woodwind and keyboard. This piece concludes the set of Stimmungsbilder with a concentrated and sinuous series of variations, for oboe and piano, on a recurring harmonic progression -- that is, formally a "chaconne" though with characteristics of a "passacaglia" [variations on a repeated melodic line with strong harmonic connotations]. Shared motives woven within and between these increasingly more virtuosic variations serve to unify them in the midst of the variety of textures and techniques that appear. An extended "infernal" episode deviating from the variation scheme but nonetheless connected with it serves as a transition to a varied recapitulation that then gives way to a redemptive coda. The painting in the video is "The Lady of Shalott" by John Atkinson Grimshaw. Feel free to scroll through the full engraved score here.            

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