(Opus 8, Composed January 2006)
Perhaps my most ambitious attempt to date, I set out to do two things when writing this tune. First, I wanted a depiction of the artist Henri Rousseau, also known as Le Douanier (which means “the customs officer”). The cover mock-up shown here features one of his self-portraits. Second, I specifically set out to write something in five sharps, as it’s a different mind-set than my normal places of comfort, which are Eb and Db for the most part (although I’ve also been toying a lot lately with F#). This tune is meant to be played rather quickly, as is reflected in the midi file. I think I probably slow the D section down a bit, but not too much, when I play it live. (Additional note: I may at some point slightly revise the transition between the trio and the finale.)