Luke Bedford
Renewal
Short instrumentation: 1 1 1 0 - 1 0 1 0 - perc, hp, str
Duration: 22'
Instrumentation details:
flute (+picc)
oboe
clarinet in Bb
horn in F
trombone
percussion (+Fingercymbeln
Peitsche
Roto-toms (4)
t-tam
b.d
t-tom)
harp
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
double bass
Bedford - Renewal for 12 players
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Work introduction
Renewal is a single-movement work with four main sections. They each appear as a sudden burst of energy; a suddenly-created sound world. They all try to remain stable for as long as possible but instability always wins out and each part collapses.
The piece opens with a slow melody in the highest register. This is not one of the main sections, but acts as a sort of background radiation to the piece. Something that connects the four main sections and out of which they appear and into which they will decay.
At various times certain instruments come to the fore: the piccolo and violin near the start; the horn and trombone in the second section; the bass drum in the third. And each section has a different trajectory: in the first, an energetic idea gradually runs down; in the second the tempo spirals towards a climax in the centre of the piece; in the third the bass drum tries to instil energy back into the ensemble; and the fourth is the first extended slow music in the piece, which finally merges with the seemingly ever-present background material.
Renewal is about creating something new from the rubble of each previous section. The piece is a celebration of renewal and regrowth, written in the full knowledge of its impermanence.
Luke Bedford