Bark for 2 Bass Clarinets is largely based on a set of multiphonics used extensively in one of my Duos for Bass Clarinet and Violin. The title conjures two images. First, it’s a reference to insistent low-register outburst in the opening section of the work, where the 2 bass clarinets conjure up images of Easter Island-like statues having awoken to bark at an intruder. But even more, “Bark” refers to the two giant douglas fir trees in my backyard. The extended weaving multiphonics offer a strange sense of peace in this often hectic work, creating a mode of awe, as though a tree-gazer was lost in revelry while staring up from the base of a 150 foot giant. The heart of the work is a lilting (or limping?) barcarole in 10/8. The passage asks our first bass clarinetist to navigate the altissimo with finesse and lyricism, an almost impossible task, like many life puts in front of us.