Dave,
As usual, a wonderful piece of work. What always gets me when I hear a new piece from you is the variety of styles you've got running around in your head, along with chops to make a nice piece of music out of them. Well, that and the sheer bulk of your output. Do you ever, like...sleep?
Despite the fact that I have spent more than 50 years trying wrestle one of the instruments in wind quintets into submission, I've never been a real fan of the enemble. I've played in a few, but it never gave me much pleasure. That being said, the stuff that always struck me as the best was French. Their idiom, to me, just translates well to woodwinds, especially flutes. So I like Mike's mention of Poulenc; I hear it, too. As to your structure and counterpoint, I will remember the philosopher's admonition to keep my mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than opening it and eliminating all doubt. Let me just say that, to me, the busyness sounds absolutely appropriate for the title and the style of the music. For me, Catch Me If You Can represents the best use of the wind quintet format: light, capricious, and fun. Congratulations yet again!
Tom
PS: You're right about the fact this forum has seen a drop in activity and interest, which is too bad. I aspire to getting VSL libraries and putting my own compositions out for those few people who have an interest in such stuff to check out. I fear the ship of an active forum of composers with similar dreams may have sailed without me. Whatever the case, I will keep an eye open for new stuff from you on your Soundcloud. Peace, TC
