The Sea, the Dog, and the Bird
for flute and xylophone

Work no. 224
2022

Part of an ongoing (as of May 2022) series of canons for percussionist Amy Salsgiver. Although each is a strict canon, these are narrative pieces based on Turkish children's songs – not their melodies, but their lyrics. The first is a lullaby which mimics the sound of the waves. The second is about a dog who wanted to fly and a mischievous crow who gave the dog bad advice. The third is about a frozen bird that comes back to life after being rescued.

Although the canonic procedures here are simpler than in most of the canons of the series, the music isn't easy to perform, particularly in the first and the third pieces.

The flute part from the first piece was later used in another piece, A Confession (Work no. 226/2022), for piccolo and flute. The melody from the third piece was expanded into a 25-minute flute solo, A Spell Against Air (Work no. 227/2022).