Seven Aphorisms

7 Aphorisms
Composed by Cynthia Folo
Published by Portfolio Publications
Includes score and parts

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

Contents:
I.   Good things, when short, are twice as good. (Baltazar Gracian)
II.  All rising to a great place is by a winding stair. (Sir Francis Bacon)
III. Hope is a waking dream. (Aristotle)
IV.  A man with a watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never sure. (Mark Twain)
V.   Plain clarity is better than ornate obscurity. (Mark Twain)
VI.  You can straighten a worm, but the crook is in him and ony waiting. (Mark Twain)
VII. What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone? (Bertold Brecht)

Program Notes: Sevon Aphorisms for Woodwind Quintet
Seven Aphorisms was commissioned by Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and dedicated to and premiered by the Del’Arte Wind Quintet 12/8/02 at the PKL national convention in Philadelphia. Performers in this quintet (and on the CD) are: Eileen Grycky, flute; Lloyd Shorter, oboe; Charles Salinger, clarinet; Cynthia Carr, horn; and Jon Gaarder, bassoon.

An aphorism is defined as a short pithy statement containing a truth of general import. The most obvious characteristic of an aphorism, apart from its brevity, is that it is a generalization. It offers a comment on some recurrent aspects of life, couched in terms that are meant to be permanently and universally applicable.