Just A Short Version
for piccolo, 2 flutes and alto flute
by Wil Offermans

Published by Musikverlag Zimmermann (ZM 29880)
- instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes and alto flute
- duration: 7 minutes
- score: 7 pages plus part scores
- text in: English, German and French
- year of publication: 1993

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Just a Short Version

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Just a Short Version has the feel of a miniature. Technically, it is not extremely difficult. Though, if you are not familiar with extended techniques, you may first want to study some wind tones, bamboo tones, portamenti and harmonics by yourself, before practicing the piece with the quartet as a whole.
....Initially we can hear the piccolo performing long cantabile lines, without suggesting any metre. These lines may remind one of the sound of the Japanese ryuteki (a flute used in the Japanese court music, Gagaku). The other three flutes however - with their irregular and accidental comments almost seem to agitate the piccolo. At the end of the middle part, the four flutes develop towards a more homogeneous and harmonious behaviour, before entering the ending part.
The opening and ending parts are made-up out of the same material. Perform high-quality and well articulated wind tones with a unanimous timing. The molto tempo rubato gives all four players the freedom to decide and vary the tempi individually. After the wind tone at the end of bar 9, the flutists continue together. At the end of the piece, molto tempo rubato creates an unpredictable and venturesome finale.

The piece has been recorded by Wil Offermans on the CD The Magic Flute (1997).