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Commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
This work was composed in 2021 and first performed on 28 May 2021 by WDR Sinfonieorchester conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.
Duration: 6 minutes
PROGRAMME NOTES
The music is majestic and mysterious, with a powerful presence. Luxuriant, icy chords open the work, then melt unpredictably with descending motifs and sporadic splashes of colour in the flute, piccolo, harp and tuned percussion. This opening gives way to a playful, lively section. Layers build, with melodies at times spiky, at times smooth and soaring, sculptured by the wind.
Accompanying textural and rhythmic material add to the covering: prickly chords and brittle pizzicato pick away at the ice, while wintry, luminescent figures dance enraptured. The solid, seemingly impenetrable wall of ice returns in the material from the opening section, now more forbidding and portentous. In the added movement, a lingering uncertainty succumbs to the inevitable, ascending as well as descending notes, with richer harmonies.
I strive to portray the light and beauty of the icy landscape glistening in the sun, exploring musically the contradictory nature of glaciers – stable yet fragile. My work is in part influenced by Zaria Forman’s incredible pastel drawing Disco Bay, Greenland, an inspiring ice-scape I visited in 2016.
© Charlotte Bray