Forty Days in the Desert
Composer: Henrique Coe
Concert: Student Composers’ Concert at Walter Hall at the University of Toronto (January 19, 2016 ).
Performers: Sophie Lanthier (flute), Meredith Liu (oboe), Marc Blouin (clarinet), Charlotte Alexander (horn), Sara Koval (bassoon).
Program note:
Forty Days in the Desert, for wind quintet, was composed in 2013. In 2015, the piece received a considerable review. Inspired by the forty days Jesus spent in the desert resisting the temptations of the Devil (Luke 4: 1-14), the piece alternates between tense (temptations) and beautiful (virtues) passages.
The piece was premiered on February 14, 2014 in a concert of the Cercle des Étudiants Compositeurs de l’Université de Montréal at the Salle Serge-Garant of the Université de Montréal in Canada. The performers who played in the premiere were Lélia Lemay (flute), Keiko Otani (oboe), Samie Archer (clarinet), Caroline Laroche (horn) and Allain Arseneau (bassoon), with the help of conductor Étienne Lemieux-Després.
The revised score was played for the first time on January 19, 2016 at a Student Composers’ Concert at Walter Hall at the University of Toronto. The performers were Sophie Lanthier (flute), Meredith Liu (oboe), Marc Blouin (clarinet), Charlotte Alexander (horn), Sara Koval (bassoon).