Night Owl
by Frank A. Wallace
for mandolin solo
PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY TREKEL EDTIONS
Duration: 7:20 minutes; 5 pages
Difficulty level: Advanced, including “a la guitarra” technique
Instrumentation: solo mandolin
Written: December, 2012; for Annika Hinsche
Commissioned by: Fabian Hinsche
World premiere: September 22, 2013 at North Meadow Concerts in Hampton, CT by Annika Hinsche
Recording: by Annika Hinsche on Gyre; Gargoyles released May 2014
All Gyre compositions are ASCAP.
All Gyre Publications are ASCAP
Copyright ©2013 Frank A. Wallace
Cover photography and design by Nancy Knowles
All rights reserved.
Annika and Frank
Night Owl was written as a Christmas present from Fabian to Annika Hinsche in 2012. The request to me was made at our final dinner after 8 days of recording in the summer of 2012 in Wuppertal, Germany.
The name was simply an inspiration after I wrote the piece, but Annika identified greatly with the sentiment of being a “night owl” herself. To me the bird represented mystery and power, appropriate to the immense talent and musicality of Annika. I had in my ear the incredibly powerful and haunting sounds of “night owls” that we hear irregularly, but memorably, every summer at our country home in New Hampshire.
Happily, three pieces have followed creating my “raptor” period as a composer. Each follows a binary form of Adagio / Presto and are expressive and virtuosic in nature: Blue Heron for Robert Margo, mandolin; Black Falcon for Edel Muñoz, guitar; and White Albatross for Fabian Hinsche, guitar. I thank Night Owl and Annika for the inspiration that gave rise to all four pieces.
Copyright ©2013 Frank A. Wallace
Cover photography and design by Nancy Knowles
All rights reserved.
This is a selection of mandolin music by Frank Wallace including Annika Hinsche’s performance of Night Owl from the CD Gargoyles.