Forms & Doubles (2024) by Chris Castro
for flute and viola
World premiere; Earplay commission

Forms & Doubles plays with two ideas. Each Form deals with the constraints of jazz, particularly the formal constraints of the Great American Songbook. Each Double harkens further back in musical history, growing out of the Baroque "double" or "echo" movement. All kinds of material from the Form (pitch, rhythm, timbre, structure) is re-imagined in its Double. Double II is a Feldman-esque melody for my friend, musician Phil Acimovic. Double III is an icy, humorous miniature which owes its style (and subtlety) to my friend, musician Bryce Cannell.

Forms & Doubles was commissioned by Earplay for Ellen Ruth Rose and Tod Brody. The score is dedicated to them.