ORCHESTRA
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a true blue sky
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Duration: 3 minutes
Forces: 1(fl) 1(cl) 1(ob) 1(bsn) / 1(hn) 1(tpt) 1(tbn) / 1 perc / hp / 2(vln) 1(vla) 1(vcl) 1(db) Commissioner: Opera North World Premiere: 22 November 2023 - The Orchestra of Opera North (cond. Oliver Rundell) About the work In 2007, the UK’s National Physical Laboratory conducted a study to find the bluest sky in the world. Having developed a portable device that measured the spectrum of light in each sky and analysed the levels of red, green and blue, they found that the bluest sky in the world was in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), followed by Bays of Islands (New Zealand) and Ayers Rock (Australia). a true blue sky (2023) deconstructs this data by converting the wavelengths of each blue into hertz to create a musical snapshot of this bluest of skies. A solo trumpet heralds the blue sky, with the harp and glockenspiel bouncing across the sky. Like light, the melody is scattered across the orchestra, never staying with one instrument for too long. a true blue sky was commissioned by the Orchestra of Opera North as a companion piece to Mahler’s Symphony No.4 for Chamber Orchestra. Mahler compared the symphony to the “uniform blue of the sky”, which served as the inspiration for this piece. |
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evergreen
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Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds
Forces: 2(fl) 2(cl) 2(ob) 2 (bsn) / 2 2 2 / 1 perc / hp / str World Premiere: 6 April 2023 - The Orchestra of Opera North (cond. Jordan de Souza) at Huddersfield Town Hall, UK - Selected as part of Minute Masterpieces About the work According to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, no other tree species in the UK supports a greater diversity of life than the oak tree. In research published in 2019, oak trees were found to support 2,300 species of which 326 depend entirely on the oak tree for survival. evergreen deconstructs the sounds from inside a Holm Oak to explore one of the UK’s biggest, most exciting natural homes. The piece opens with the strings ebbing and flowing as the water rushes up the tree, while a solo cello imitates the air bubbles popping inside. As the tree comes to life, the orchestra awakens with key clicks and flourishes from the woodwind and brass while the double basses keep the orchestra grounded. |
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the light thief
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Duration: 3 minutes
Forces: 2(fl) 2(cl) 2(ob) 2 (bsn) / 2 2 / perc / str World Premiere: 9 November 2021 - Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra (cond. Cayenna Ponnichone-Bailey) at Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, UK - Winner of Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra Composition Competition About the work the light thief is inspired by the work of Professor Haley Gomez of Cardiff University and Professor Paul Francis of The Australian National University and explores the world of stardust. Using deconstructed sonifications of stardust, supernova explosions and pulsars, the light thief captures the mischievous, darker nature of stardust as it slowly absorbs the surrounding light. Opening with a single flute, it is quickly joined by another flute. The two bounce off one another while the strings and woodwinds pulse in and out. As the orchestra slowly builds, a piercing clarinet cries out before the orchestra bursts out with frenzied energy. |
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songs from the stars
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Duration: 4 minutes
Forces: 1 (pic) 2 (fl) 2 (ob) 2 (cl) 1 (bcl) 2 (bsn) 1 (cbsn) / 4 3 2 1 1 / 3 perc / pno / str World Premiere: 28 April 2016 - BBC National Orchestra of Wales (cond. Jac van Steen) at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, UK - Selected as part of BBC National Orchestra of Wales Composition: Wales About the work This piece was inspired by the Philae spacecraft that formed part of the Rossetta mission in 2014. It is based upon transcriptions of the sun, solar flares, a radio storm between Jupiter and Io and stardust and is inspired by spectralist techniques. The first of four movements, the piece follows a satellite lost in space, similar to when Philae was thought to be out of operation. Exploring the loneliness of space the first movement takes a panoramic view of space, slowly introducing each transcription throughout the orchestra, culminating into a cacophony of sound before slowly dying away. "the magic of Carol's music is the silence that becomes alive" - Jac van Steen |
