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Gillian Whitehead  

Hotspur

Duration: 35' 00" Year: 1980
for mezzo soprano and chamber ensemble

  • Instrumentation
    clarinet, clarinet/bass-clarinet, violin/viola, cello, percussion (marimba, 9 drums in high to low sequence, drum of fluctuating pitch, bass drum, 5 suspended cymbals, ching - Thai finger cymbals, bell tree, rasp, 2 woodblocks, 3 temple blocks, wood chimes)
  • Programme Note

    This monodrama for mezzo soprano and chamber sextet, commissioned by Northern Arts UK, tells of the 14th century North of England warrior Henry Percy (Hotspur), seen through the eyes of Elizabeth Mortimer, in a striking ballad sequence written by Fleur Adcock.

    Whitehead’s imaginative score combines exotic and arresting instrumental colours, a strong dramatic vocal line (often with flamboyant flourishes) and an admirable overall conception of the mood changes and tonal graduation of the work. (William Dart, NZ Listener)

    She has the rare gift of knowing when to us nightmarish vehemences and when to be utterly straightforward and calm. (Roger Covell, Sydney Morning Herald).

  • Availability

Kit Powell  

Piece of 4

Duration: 45' 00" Year: 1980, r. 2007
a piece of four players

Bryony Jagger  

Shosho

Duration: 40' 00" Year: 1980
one act chamber opera

  • Instrumentation
    soprano, alto, 2 tenors and bass solos, oboe and percussion - Three acting soloists (soprano, tenor and bass) and two (alto and tenor) as chorus.

William Dart  

Songs to the Judges

Duration: 50' 00" Year: 1980
a song-play

John Cousins  

Soundings

Duration: 1h 00' 00" Year: 1980
performance installation - mixed media

Kit Powell  

The Ever-Circling Light: Te Ao Hurihuri

Duration: 30' 00" Year: 1980
four choruses for SATB choir and 6 percussionists