Clifford Bevan: Variations on "The Pesky Sarpent" for serpent and piano

Douglas Yeo, serpent
Michael Messer, piano

Variations on "The Pesky Sarpent" was recorded April 23, 2022 as part of Douglas Yeo's faculty recital in the Armerding Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Wheaton College, Illinois. The performance is preceded by a recitation of the poem, "On Springfield Mountain," the text of the nineteenth-century New England folksong on which Variations on "The Pesky Sarpent" is based.

The serpent, an eight-feet long cylindrical tube of wood covered with leather, came to prominence in the late sixteenth century to play an important role accompanying plainchant in churches in France. It was subsequently used in chamber music ensembles, bands, and orchestras, before later instruments like the ophicleide, tuba, and euphonium pushed it to obscurity. The modern revival of the serpent was initiated by Christopher Monk in the 1970s.

Variations on "The Pesky Sarpent" may be the first piece ever composed for serpent and piano (1996). It is published by Piccolo Press, Winchester, England:

www.piccolopress.info

Serpent by Baudouin, Paris, c. 1812.
Piano by Steinway.
Caleb Ballard, recording engineer.

For more information about music at Wheaton College, visit:

www.wheaton.edu/conservatory

Follow Douglas Yeo's blog, "The Last Trombone," at:

www.thelasttrombone.com