Walking the Cotswolds (score & parts) - OB/CL/BSN

I. From Chipping Campden to Moreton-in-Marsh

II. From Upper Swell to Stow-on-the-Wold

III. From Wotton-under-Edge to Dumbleton

IV. The Cotswold Way

Most chamber music for woodwinds, and for reed trio in particular, has been French in either origin or inspiration. Perhaps because of the weight of that tradition, when the PEN Trio asked me to write them a piece, I found myself inspired more by thoughts of Britain than of France. I imagined three friends setting out on a hiking trip (or as the English would say, a walking tour) through a beautiful rural countryside. One of my favorite such places in Britain is the Cotswolds. It has rolling hills, charming small towns with quaint picturesque names, houses built of a distinctive honey-colored stone, lovely English gardens, and many attractive walking paths, or which the longest is called The Cotswold Way. I imagined the three friends setting out together, going through different adventures and moods as they explore various trails, and finally bidding a bittersweet farewell to their time together. 

--Allen Cohen

Written for and dedicated to the PEN Trio.