Five Frogs

5 Frogs
Composed by Jenni Brandon
For Woodwind Quintet
Published by Boosey & Hawkes
Includes score and parts

Instrumentation: Flute/Piccolo, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Horn in F, and Bassoon

Movements include:
1. Leaping
2. On the Lily Pad
3. Swimming
4. Bullfrog
5. Catching Bugs
6. Epilogue

Program Notes:
      Five Frogs for woodwind quintet was inspired by a book titled One Hundred Frogs by Hiroaki Sato. This little book takes a look at one hundred different translations, haikus, sonnets, prose poems, and even limericks based on Basho's haiku, “Old Pond/Frog jumps in/The sound of water.” Each of the instruments in the ensemble is so different and so exceptional in their sound and abilities that I realized each one could be a 'frog.' The clarinet is perfect for “Leaping” because of its agility and grace, the way a frog can be still one minute and gone the next. “On the Lily Pad” depicts a frog sitting, as frogs often do, but I felt that this frog might be contemplative and thoughtful and that the oboe could sing a beautiful song of the pond. For “Swimming” I chose the French horn as the frog, swimming gracefully through the water as the other instruments act as ripples in the water and the motion the frog might leave in its wake. The “Bullfrog” could be none other than the bassoon, not only for its wide vocal range, but also for the various colors it could evoke, the way frogs' sounds entangle with the other sounds of the night. “Catching Bugs” gave me the opportunity to use the piccolo and allow the ensemble to run 'amok' after their bug dinner. Finally in “Epilogue” all the frogs sing together, each one bringing their own song into this final movement.