Jenni Brandon’s Spider Suite performed by the Fourth Wall on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30 PM in the Humanities Theatre at Chattanooga State. The ensemble consists of Cindy Solfest-Wallis on flute, Nicholas Hartline on clarinet, and Staci Spring on bassoon. Spider Suite tells the story of the adventures of a spider and his daily activities, from spinning webs, capturing bugs, and beginning again.

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 immediately 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.