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Duration: c. 8'
1. Sunsplash
2. On the Beach
3. The Bee and the Horseshoe Crab
COMMISSIONED by West Chester University for Duo Del Sol (Henry Grabb & Karen Danessa).
PREMIERED by Henry Grabb & Karen Danessa, Steinway Hall NYC (October 2018).
AVAILABLE from your favorite sheet music dealer, or direct from Presser.
YOUTUBE of live performance by Rachel Messing and Tim Haas.
YOUTUBE of live performance by Merideth Hite Estevez and Christopher Nichols.
PROGRAM NOTES
Following several performances of Cape May Breezes by the faculty wind quintet at West Chester University, I heard from Karen Dannessa, the ensemble's clarinetist. She and the group's oboist (Henry Grabb) are a married couple who also play regularly as Duo Del Sol, with Henry on English Horn.
Duo Del Sol has commissioned and recorded many works for this beautiful and uncommon combination, particularly fascinating since their ranges are similar, tones are different, and they can phrase identically while remaining distinct.
Soon after hearing about the commission, I happened to walk in to an unrelated concert just as it started, and noticed Karen sitting in the row in front of me. Between movements I quickly whispered "Why are you called Duo Del Sol?" During the next break between movements, Karen quickly whispered back "We like to vacation where it's sunny!"
That was all it took for customized ideas to get going – between that tropically luxurious image and the duo's name being in Spanish, sketches started flowing for a Caribbean-influenced set of vacation postcards.
(Spoiler alert about the title of the third movement: A bee is a fast-fleeting beach hazard, and a horseshoe crab is the opposite – a rigid non-moving beach hazard. You’ll hear both in Movement 3.)
Duo Del Sol premiered Hot Spots at Steinway Hall in New York City in September 2018.
REVIEWS
"Daniel Dorff has been one of the most prolific composers for the clarinet, including his concerto Summer Solstice and his solo bass clarinet piece Flowers of St. Francis, premiered at the Assisi ClarinetFest. His music is full of interesting melodic invention and rhythmic vitality, and Hot Spots, composed in the summer of 2018, is a worthwhile contribution to the repertoire that is completely in line with his music aesthetic.
Hot Spots is an 8-minute, three-movement work of bubbly, beach-inspired music: "Sunsplash," a syncopated, predominantly homorhythmic piece; "On the Beach," a free call-and-response opening followed by a languid, cantabile duet in which the instruments walk in lock step and diverge with a particularly effective climax toward the end; thd "The Bee and the Horseshoe Crab," a fast-paced flight with a hint of calypso and an exciting conclusion. Presser's music is always expertly printed and easy on the eyes. Hot Spots is adventurous chamber music with a light character and a sunny disposition.
– The Clarinet (Osiris Molina), December 2019
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