Jenni Brandon’s “Spider Suite” Performed by The Coriolis Trio

Spider Suite BrandonThe Coriolis Trio performs Jenni Brandon’s “Spider Suite” Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 1:00 PM for a meeting of the East Bay Alumnae chapter of the International Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity in Pleasanton, California. The Trio will also perform “Spider Suite” at a home concert in Danville, California, on September 20, 2020. Neither of these is a public event.

The Trio is from the Walnut Creek – Danville – San Ramon, California area. The Coriolis Trio members are Eva Langfeldt — oboe, Christy Diggins — clarinet, and Lisa Canter — bassoon. Ms. Langfeldt states “The Trio members are very active (actually rather overactive) community orchestra and chamber musicians”. In the past they have performed “The Wildflower Trio”. In the future Ms. Langfeldt hopes to perform “Five Frogs”.

In “Spider Suite” We are first introduced to the world of spiders through the fast and many-legged theme in “Along came a spider…”, full of skittering, racing, and lurking. In movement two a young spider takes flight – baby spiders will spin a balloon out of silk and fly away from their mother’s web to embark on their own journey, letting the wind take them wherever it might. Our spider lands gently and at once begins to make his web in “Spinning Song”. Once the web is spun, it is time to wait for dinner to come along. Our spider dances “A Wicked Waltz”, laughing manically as he waits for the “Happy Bug (unsuspecting)” to get stuck in his web. As the bug flies and sings, he gets increasingly stuck in the web – listen as the timbral trills in the oboe become more and more frequent. In the final movement the spider reflects on his day (flying, spinning, and hunting…), tearing down his web, as spiders often do, to begin again the next day.

  • Movement I: Along came a spider…
  • Movement II: The Spider’s Flight (solo bassoon)
  • Movement III: Spinning Song
  • Movement IV: A Wicked Waltz: The Spider and the Happy Bug (unsuspecting)
  • Movement V. The end of the day…begin again

“Spider Suite”, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, was commissioned by the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and was premiered by the Vientos Trio at the CAPMT state conference in February 2010 at the Pacific Palms Resort.

The version for flute, clarinet, and bassoon is recorded by Ceora Winds on their debut CD Postcards.