Commission: ORF musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst, the Philharmonie Essen for the NOW! Festival 2023, the Festival d’Automne à Paris, and Radio France, with the support of VGR – Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk.
Duration: 14′
Programm note:
strange bird — no longer navigating by a star is fourth in a cycle of compositions inspired by the poem My heart lives in my chest, by Dorothy Molloy. She writes about loss, feeling stranded in her own thoughts, like a directionless bird. Throughout this cycle, I have been building musical spaces that reflect Molloy’s description of “the chest’s vast / empty skies, only the cries that / echo from afar.” Later in the poem, Molloy describes “some strange flapping bird,” whose aimless circling is the source of the cries that echo out into a “vacant lot.” strange bird — no longer navigating by a star takes the spaces developed in the earlier works of the cycle and introduces the movement of this bird, drifting from place to place without ever landing or finding its destination.
Technical Requirements:
The instrumentation is the following:
- 3 Flutes (3. also piccolo); 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets; 1 Bass Clarinet; 2 Bassoon;
- 4 Horn; 2 Trumpet in C; 3 Trombone; 1 Tuba;
- 3 Percussion — NB: their parts can be redistributed to up to 6 musicians, if it needs to be easier;
- Harp (detuned and prepared);
- E-Guitar with Sustainer (detuned);
- Strings 14.12.10.8.6.
- Stereo Electronics
NB: many of the musicians will also use some objects.