DESCRIPTION:
E Pluribus Unum
for Two Horns and Strings
by Bill Robinson
premiere performance by hornists Chris Caudill and Rachel Niketopoulos; Ciompi Quartet (Eric Pritchard, Hsiao-Mei Ku, Jonathan Bagg, Fred Raimi); and bassist Robbie Link, at the NC Museum of Art, Raleigh NC, March 6, 2016

Recording and video by VoChor

Composed September 29--December 23, 2012

Chris Caudill and Rachel Niketopoulos are a couple living here in Raleigh who are hornists in the North Carolina Symphony. I have admired their playing for some time, which got me to thinking of something to write for them. I had a chance to meet Rachel at their home, festooned with innumerable cats, at a gathering of Alexander Technique people, where I went at the invitation of Eric Pritchard, my long-time collaborator.
In 1990 I wrote a series of pieces for consideration by the Air Force band musicians at Warner Robins AFB, as my friend Fred Robinson (no relation) worked as a composer and arranger there. The largest piece was the Munster Variations for concert band, based on trash TV themes from the ‘60s. (Perfectly legal due to parody usage; see the many lawsuits about Barbie-based art that Mattel cannot stop.) However this piece was abandoned after one disastrous read-through and never performed. I took one of the variations as the theme for the middle movement of this work, and used some of the few good ideas much altered in the variations.
This work is designed to be performed either with two horns and string orchestra, or with two horns, string quartet, and double bass. I usually find that the textures are entirely thick enough without divisi, and I use this as an excuse for simplicity. Certain passages, especially in the last movement, are much easier to play with a conductor.