Work
Nocturne No. 1
for chamber sextet
Films, Audio & Samples
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About
At the heart of Nocturne No. 1 is the exclusive use of certain extended playing techniques to establish a musical character that is based on timbre. Each instrument is literally deconstructed, its natural voice taken away so that what remains is a proto-musical, primordial sound world consisting of rushes of air, rattling, growling and grinding, organised into gestural statements that occasionally gather into a unified force. These gestural statements are often constructed in a relayed fashion, with players taking turns in initiating, continuing or terminating a gesture.
On a larger scale, playing techniques – and developments within these techniques – serve as a structural tool, so that the piece gradually passes through a handful of sonic landscapes. The surround-sound placement of the ensemble takes its cues from acousmatic and fixed-media arts. This is and attempt to present Nocturne No. 1 as a living entity and immersive environment that breathes and moves in space, highlighting the relayed quality of its gestural statements.
Nocturne No. 1 received first prize at the 2012 New Zealand School of Music Composers Competition.
Performance history
15 Sep 2012: Performed by JeeWon Um (flute), Karlo Margetić (clarinet), David McGregor (bass clarinet), Jun He (violin), Aiden Verity (viola), and Charley Davenport (cello), and conducted by Chris Gendall, at the Adam Concert Room, at the New Zealand School of Music, in Wellington.
05 Jul 2013: Performed at the Nelson Composers Workshop, at the Concert Hall in the Nelson School of Music, in Nelson.
14 Nov 2014: NACHTMUSIK | SMP Ensemble