Somber Clowns for flute quintet

An oxymoron of a title, Somber Clowns uses a minor key to describe circus clowns hesitantly dancing about. The surprise is in the middle passage which changes over to a major key; apparently the carnival has come to town! As expected, the carnival seems to have induced a state of merriment during which the clowns spin happily round and round. When the carnival leaves and the clowns return to their original somber state, they gradually shuffle along to the end of their show. They are really OK…..just clowns of a more serious nature.

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