Composer’s note:

Estampie, my first piece composed upon arrival in California in 1961 to study with Lou
Harrison, was originally part of a Suite for Celesta and Tack-piano. When I arranged the
work for orchestra, it became one of my most performed pieces. I arranged the orchestral
version for the wind quintet of which I was a member (bassoon) for our many
performances in the schools.

The Estampie was a popular music form written for dance in the 13th and 14th centuries.
The sections were called puncti, and each repeated. One variation features two distinct
endings throughout the piece that alternated on the first and second playing of each
puncti.