A passacaglia for contrabassoon and piano, dashed off in a few days. I leaned into the challenge of keeping things alive and varied while circling a single, stubborn line. The piece is tailored entirely to the contrabassoon—no other instrument could wear these shoes and play and shine with this music. That fit hinges on its girthy, rugged, deeply sonorous voice, which can still be surprisingly nimble. It roars in the deep, groans in the mid-register, and thins into a ghostly falsetto in its pale high register. I embraced the full range of its quirks and oddities, including the strangeness some listeners might experience. The result is a piece that takes itself painfully seriously—and does so with a self-conscious, ironic wink.