- Un jour, j?ai vu le soleil se coucher quarante-trois fois! Et un peu plus tard tu ajoutais: - Tu sais? quand on est tellement triste on aime les couchers de soleil? - Le jour des quarante-trois fois fois tu ?tais donc tellement triste? Mais le petit prince ne r?pondit pas.

Le Petit Prince Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry

Le Petit Prince is one of the most beautiful books in all of literature. Like the ?Alice? stories it can be read by grown ups or by young people. The interpretation depends on the age of the reader or the young person within. While looking for a title for this piece the above quote came to mind. It suits the mood. I do not intend to portray the dialogue nor the sunsets through music. The music is my response to the silence of le petit prince.

The work is for solo oboe. It is a set of continual variations. Each motif can be considered as a sunset. Each variation contains one or more motifs or fragments which are either repeated or developed slightly. Each is different like a sunset is different.

The ?Theme? sets out the four versions of the note row from the matrix. The first variation is somewhat rhapsodic, the second more spiky, like the thorns on a rose. The third variation attempts melismas, not one of which is able to grow. The fourth variation is a development of the first. It contains the climax of the piece. The fifth and final variation is the opening theme slightly varied.

Performance Note

The pause between each movement is written out. The performer is free to make each pause longer or shorter in performance.