Basilica deserta for Bass Flute (or Flute) and Piano

This is a great piece for bass flute which lies sensibly within its range, has a modest number of contemporary techniques and is all held together by an accompaniment that creates an other-worldly atmosphere. Experience on the bass would be an asset but as it works on the flute too this is a double-value investment!

Dehnhard’s Basilica deserta is a new work for bass flute and piano. At the beginning of the score the composer notes how they often imagine people performing the work, and so imagined a bass flute and piano playing in a “huge church, empty, maybe even abandoned”. And so, the title of the piece appeared: Basilica deserta.

The piece begins with long notes, played pianissimo and without vibrato, creating the still atmosphere of a deserted basilica. The piano repeats a moving motif as the flute starts to add colour and vibrato to the drones it plays. Further colour is added when grace notes and tremolo fingerings are provided above the notation. As the piece continues, more appear and the texture of the piano part changes to compliment the faster movement of the flute’s notes. The piece finishes with tasty piano chords ringing over the top of the flute’s subtle finish.

A guide to the intricacies of the extended techniques of the piece is provided at the beginning of the score. Such techniques include grace notes (not to be played in the traditional way), wind sounds, bisbigliando (speed of tone colour changes), pizzicato, flutter tongue and stop tongue (also referred to as reverse sound). All these techniques are indicated by abbreviations within the piece. The extended techniques add a depth to the soundscape and, once all the components come together, this piece would sound beautiful in a space as open as a basilica!