Instrumentation

fl(=picc).ob.cl(=Ebcl) – hn.tpt – perc(1): 2(3)tam-t/2 susp.cym/bongos/3 tom-t/SD/timp/vib – pno – string quartet

Availability

Score, parts and CD for hire

Programme Notes

Smiling Immortal is the poetess Sappho’s description of the goddess Aphrodite. The work is in three parts. The first, the longest, describes the emergence of the new gods and the castration of Cronos by his wife Rhea. The second part describes the birth of Aphrodite following the washing ashore of the genitals on Cyprus. The final section describes Aphrodite’s love for the god of war, Ares. The work is scored for ensemble amplification and tape. The score for this work was commissioned by The London Celebrations Committee for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. It was first performed by Ballet Rambert in July 1977 with choreography by Norman Morrice and designs by John Macfarlane.

Smiling Immortal

King's Hall, Newcastle University (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom)

Agustin Fernandez/Newcastle University New Music Group

Smiling Immortal

Konservatorium Wien (Vienna, Austria)

Ensemble of the Music Conservatory, Vienna/Peter Burwick

Smiling Immortal

Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA)

Don Palma/San Francisco Contemporary Players

Smiling Immortal

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA, USA)

Don Palma/San Francisco Contemporary Players

Smiling Immortal

Centro Cultural De Belém (Lisbon, Portugal)

London Sinfonietta/Markus Stenz