Instrumentation
fl(=afl+picc).ob.cl(=bcl).ssax.bsn(=cbsn) - hn.tpt.2 trbn.tba - perc(2): 2 tam-t/2 BD/SD/2 whip/anvil/flexatone/car wheel/2 peking opera gongs/2 hi-hat/2 susp.cym/2 small crash cym/5 tuned gongs/10 tin cans/dustbin/wdbl/cuica/mil.dr/rattle/thunder sheet/2 spring coils - vln.vla.vlc.db
Availability
Score and parts for hire
Programme Notes
'Bitter Fruit' is a ninety-minute show for masks, mimes, musicians and puppets. The story, by Toby Wilsher, is rich and complex and involves, amongst much else, thwarted love, a touring theatre company, a murderous automaton and a blacksmith (hence the scrapyard percussion). This suite compresses the music into twenty minutes. Edges are always hard and joins are made by jump-cutting. The music has a cartoon violence: sometimes black, and sometimes lurid. 'Bitter Fruit' was commissioned by Simon Clugston for Trestle Theatre and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
© John Woolrich