Brandon, Jenni % An Orange Tree - BSN/CBSN

An Orange Treefor bassoon and contrabassoonby Jenni Brandon (b. 1977) - American composer   An Orange Tree for bassoon and contrabassoon is inspired by the poem “Hay un naranjo ahí” by Alfonso Quijada Urías and its translation “There’s an Orange Tree Out There” by Darwin J. Flakoll.  There is hope in this work as it explores and honors a story of remembrance, of the immigrant experience, and the ability to start a new life in a new land. Using the unique colors of the bassoon and contrabassoon, there is a conversation between these two instruments as they explore how an orange tree “out there, behind that old, abandoned garden wall” reminds us of an orange tree planted in a distant land before coming to this new place. The ranges of both instruments are explored in this working, using the power of the contrabassoon’s low range and the beauty of the bassoon’s upper range to showcase these instruments’ dynamic colors.  The opening line of the work represents the theme of the orange tree