Tiny Tattoo

Description

Flute 1, Flute 2, Piccolo, Oboe 1, Oboe 2, English Horn, Clarinet in Bb 1, Clarinet in Bb 2, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon 1, Bassoon 2, Contrabassoon, Horn in F 1, Horn in F 1, Horn in F 3, Horn in F 4, Trumpet in C 1, Trumpet in C 2, Trumpet in C 3, Trombone 1, Trombone 2, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Percussion 1, Percussion 2, Percussion 3, Timpani, Harp, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass — TINY TATTOO (2017) was written after visiting a “treetop” bistro at Big Sur, California with my wife after driving the entire day up from L.A. The restaurant is called “Nepenthe,” named after an ancient Greek elixir fabled to relieve one from any and all sorrows. This spot-on-the-cliff made such an impression on me (in my exhausted state) that I immediately began humming the opening minimal hook in what is now this piece. Any well-known excerpts containted within the work are happy accidents.Tiny Tattoo was written as a gift to conductor Alastair Willis.