Katherine Needleman: Mimas, Sonata for Bass Oboe and Piano

Katherine Needleman: Mimas (2022)
Sonata for Bass Oboe and Piano
I. Diffusion 0:02
II. Makara 4:37
III. Chorale, Hornpipe, and Dies Irae 7:51
The name "Mimas" makes several references. To begin, Mimas was one of the Giants in Greek mythology. Mimas’ mother was Gaia, the ancestor of all life and the personification of Earth, and Mimas’ father was Uranus, the sky and the heavens. Father Sky despised his children and imprisoned the first generation, the Titans, inside Mother Earth. Like so many recorded conceptions afterward, Mimas’ creation was remarkable. Persuaded by his mother Gaia, the Titan Cronus castrated Uranus with a sickle. He cast his father's testicles into the sea. So fertile was Uranus that the foam from his testicles mixed with the sea to create Aphrodite, while the blood spilled into Mother Earth created Mimas and the other Giants.
Named for the Greek mythological Giant, Mimas is also one of Saturn's 82 (as of January, 2022) moons. Discovered in 1789 by William Herschel, it has an enormous crater named Herschel. It is the smallest known astronomical body to maintain a round shape from self-gravitation. Underneath its surface of 20 miles of ice, scientists believe there is a hidden ocean. Herschel was created from an impact so large that it nearly shattered Mimas.
Furthermore, Mimas was the name of the fictional giant redwood tree which appeared in Richard Powers’ 2018 novel, The Overstory. A central figure of the novel, Mimas houses two environmentalists for a year while they experience its wonders and try to prevent its destruction. The environmentalists fail and Mimas is tragically felled. Yet Mimas lives on in certain ways, connected to the deep and mysterious messaging of the natural world.
This piece was conceived in late 2021 in response to Jim Rodgers' request for a work for Heckelphone and piano. I tried to find a suitable setting for the beastial, giant and wooden qualities of the Heckelphone. In preparing recorded materials for early performances, I made this bass oboe version, somewhat different than both the original Heckelphone and later bassoon versions.
Scores available at katherineneedleman.com/publications
Copyright © Katherine Needleman / Tenesmus Music House 2022

[@GARCKY]

I thought I had posted on this. But, I can't see it. I found it to be terrific. You let us all hear the full range available to that rare instrument, and in a piece that exploits its sonorities thoroughly. It's also an excellent piece of music, that should be in everyone's collection of solo pieces, if they own and play a bass oboe. Loved it!

[@DavidBennettThomas]

Wow, bass oboe! Beautiful piece and instrument!

[@aminorjourney]

Love it.

[@ellendahlstrom7573]

Katherine Needleman W