BIVALENCE XVI，for Two Bassoons（2021）

The bassoon is an instrument I used to rarely encounter outside an orchestral setting. For a long time my only venture into using the instrument outside the orchestra was my Wind Trio，composed in 1965 when I
was still a student. It has been the appearance of outstanding performers of the bassoon that has provoked my renewed strong interest in the instrument. Over the past few years my output for the instrument has included the concerto Licence of Blaze (1999，revised 2004)，Strata X for bassoon and cello (2014)，and A Bassoon Drifts，And He Smiles for solo bassoon (2015). Bivalence XVI for two bassoons is the most recent in a series of pieces bearing the title Bivalence that I have been working on since 1997 and which has hitherto included works for
cello，violin，viola，clarinet，oboe，double bass，percussion，saxophone，trumpet，mandolin，voice，harp，flute，horn and recorder. I began work on Bivalence XVI in 2019 with the brilliant young bassoonists Tetsuya Ch? and Mariko Fukushi in mind. My schedule and the pandemic meant that I had to interrupt work on the piece for some time. I returned to it in 2021 and completed the work in the middle of July.
The work consists of five movements and is the first in the Bivalence series to possess a multi-movement structure. The first movement features an exchange of fast passages between the two bassoons based on adjacent intervals to create the effect of a single instrument. The second movement pits ascending and descending figures against each other. The third movement features a song-like melody at a slow tempo punctuated by interruptions. The fourth movement is an energetic piece incorporating arpeggiated phrases. The fifth movement leads to collaboration between the two players but returns at the end to the exchange present in the first movement.