Work
Up in the Clouds : for flute, clarinet, vibraphone, piano, violin and cello
by Corrina Bonshek (2017)
Audio Sample
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Performance by All of the Above from the CD Selected Works by AMC Represented Artists, vol. 96. |
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Non-Commercial
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CD
Selected Works by AMC Represented Artists, vol. 96.
Library shelf no. CD 2961 [Available for loan]
Display all products featuring this work (3 more) 
Work Overview
This piece is a musical meditation on wind and birds in different guises.
Wind is a mercurial, a dynamic force. The music in this piece is changeable. It flirts with cacophony, yet is underpinned by stillness. I like the way silence can frame subtle wind-like gestures created via timbral colours that slide into noise or have a delicate resonance that places them on the edge of silence.
This piece reimagines and extends musical ideas from my solo Pipa piece Desert Time for Taiwanese virtuoso Chen Yu Rong. It takes timbre techniques from Chinese lute and reimagines them using the colour palette of western sextet. The pacing of the music is governed by breath-like phrasing, and the interplay of long/short motives, gesture and silence. For me this interplay represents the balance at the heart of Qi, or the vital energy that permeates the universe.
I like to invite nature sounds and patterns into my music. In this piece, the birdcalls begin as occasional commentators, and end up as a full-blown dusk chorus. You'll hear my musicalised version of birdcalls from my neighbourhood - the Kurrawongs, Butcherbirds and Common Bronzewing Pigeons that sing outside my window while I compose. By contemplating nature, I feel a deeper connection to the non-human ecology around me.
Work Details
Year: 2017
Instrumentation: Flute, clarinet (B flat & bass), vibraphone, piano, violin, cello.
Duration: 10 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Commission note: Commissioned by All of the Above for Cincinnati Soundbox: Cincinnati to Sydney Concert
First performance: by All of the Above — 16 Nov 17. St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church, Cincinnati USA, as part of Cincinnati Soundbox: Cincinnati to Sydney
Awards & Prizes
| Year | Award | Placing | Awarded for/to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Art Music Awards: Work of the Year: Instrumental | Finalist | Corrina Bonshek |
Analysis
Resonate article: 2018 Art Music Awards - comments by judging panels by Australian Music Centre
Subjects
- Inspired by: Birdsong
Performances of this work
20 Oct 2019: at Composer Portrait: Corrina Bonshek & Margery Smith (Annandale Creative Arts Centre). Featuring Sirius Chamber Ensemble.
16 Nov 17: St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church, Cincinnati USA, as part of Cincinnati Soundbox: Cincinnati to Sydney. Featuring All of the Above.
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