‘A vivid retelling.’ The Times
Instrumentation
2(II=picc).afl.2(II=ca ad lib.).2.bcl.2 - 4.3.3.1 - timp - perc(3): glsp/t.bells/hi-hat.cym/2 susp.cym/siz.cym/cyms/tgl/tamb/whip/flexatone/vibraslap/ratchet/mark tree/SD/TD/4 tom toms/BD/pedal BD/tam-t - pno(=cel ad lib.) - harp - strings
Availability
Full score and vocal score on special sale from the Hire Library, children's score and parts for hire
Reviews
'Matthews’s score does not talk down to the youngest in its audience – something in which he emulates his mentor Benjamin Britten… The music is more than illustrative. The Piper’s instrument of enchantment is a flute, and Matthews uses a quote from Debussy’s Syrinx as a kind of touchstone. It leads off at the beginning, then emerges from the orchestra at the moment of rat-charming, sounding beguiling over muted strings and harp. The music that charms the children away, however, is a wistful jig. The door opens to reveal the Piper for the first time with a grand, fateful theme that returns, with greater menace, when the hillside opens up… the piece is beautifully judged.’
The Guardian (Eric Jeal), 9 February 2015
‘A vivid retelling… Matthews draws from a rich pattern book for his music of infestation and enchantment, pomp and squalor. There are glistening shards of Bartók and Janácek, wry nods to Wagner and a cleverly reframed homage to Debussy’s story of a more adult seduction, Syrinx.’
The Times (Anna Picard), 11 February 2015