This is a short piece for clarinet and strings and, as the title suggests, it is based on the concept of a vocal aria, but without the contrasting middle section of true ternary form. I wanted to write for the strings in A minor (ending in the tonic major), so have used the A clarinet rather the Bb instrument. However, I have included a Bb clarinet part, as the transposition isn't significantly too difficult. The dedication is to a good friend of mine, the leader of the Royal Marine Band based at HMS Raleigh, who would certainly do justice to the cantabile line of the melody!