Up a Half Step - OB/iPhone

Up a Half Step
Omaagio a Luciana Berio
for oboe and iPhone
by Amelia S. Kaplan - American composer

Written for Aryn Sweeney
Up a Half Step takes both Berio's Sequenza VII and the oboe's lyrical qualities as its inspiration. The work begins much like Berio's with a drone on an iPhone, this time on C rather than B, but then as chromatic pitches unfold they develop into simple melodic and modal lines. The lines are then ornamented with timbral trills, grace notes, and multiphonics, resulting in a sort of Renaissance/20th century mashup. The composer wishes to thank Aryn Sweeney, who requested the pieces, for her beautiful playing, and for her patience in experimenting with a huge variety of extended techniques.