| Instrumentation: | trumpet, piano |
| Duration: | 5' |
| Year Composed: | 2015 |
| Commissioner: | Robin Doyon, with the support of the Edmonton Arts Council |
| Dedication: | to Robin Doyon |
Closely allied in character to the scherzo, the badinerie was a title given in the 18th-century to a playful movement of a suite, the finale of Bach's Second Orchestral Suite the most famous example. My intention here was to create a light-hearted musical romp using shifting tempos and styles—and the occasional non sequitur. What binds the whole is an obsession with a falling third played by the trumpet right off the top, initiating a slow, dreamy introduction.That third generates the material of the fast, lively music that follows: an angular, staccato theme followedby a legato, expressive one. At intervals the dreamy refrain returns, each time motivating furtherdevelopment of the third motive, including a passage in slow swing played by the trumpet with aharmon mute (two other mutes make appearances). Despite many piquant chords and distant modulations, the piece gravitates to C major, an authentic cadence in the home key, implied repeatedly by the refrain, withheld until the very end.
—R.R.