Sir Harrison Birtwistle
Silbury Air
Short instrumentation: 1 1 1 1 - 1 1 1 0 - perc(1), hp, pno, str(1 1 1 1 1)
Duration: 15'
Dedication: Dedicated to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzsky
Instrumentation details:
flute (+picc
alto fl)
oboe (+c.a)
clarinet in Bb (+bass cl(Bb))
bassoon
horn in F
trumpet in C
trombone
percussion (1 player)
harp
piano
1st violin
2nd violin
viola
violoncello
contrabass
Birtwistle - Silbury Air for chamber ensemble
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Sir Harrison Birtwistle
Birtwistle: Silbury Air for chamber ensembleOrchestration: for chamber ensemble
Type: Studienpartitur
Sample pages
Audio preview
Work introduction
Silbury Air is
named after Silbury Hill, a prehistoric mound in Wiltshire, the biggest
artificial mound in Europe, being 125 feet
high and covering more than five acres. Its use and purpose, after centuries of
speculation, still remain a mystery. The music of the Air is not in any way meant to be a romantic reflection of the
hill's enigmatic location – nor a parallel with any of its evident geometry.
Seen from a distance the hill presents itself as an artificial but organic
intruder on the landscape. I have often alluded to my music of landscape
presenting musical ideas through the juxtaposition and repetition of “static
blocks” of, preferable for my terminology, objects. These objects themselves
being subjected to a vigorous invented logic via modes of juxtaposition, modes
of repetition, modes of change. The sum total of these processes is a compound
artificial landscape or “imaginary” landscape, to use Paul Klee's title.
Sir Harrison Birtwistle