Score
Cheynes : for mixed ensemble / Iain Grandage.
Library shelf no. 785.3415/GRA 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
How is it that empty places or inanimate objects can resonate
with visceral stories? What memory of a violent act does an
object maintain, even long after the act has been committed?
These were questions I found myself asking after visiting the old
Cheynes Beach whaling station near Albany, strewn as it is with
long disused machines of the cull. I was reading Tim Winton's
'The Turning' at the time, much of which is set in and around
Albany, and which is imbued with similar undercurrents.
Musically, it is built from an all-interval tetrachord, first
heard in the opening piano motif. This tetrachord is so-named
because all possible intervals (from minor second through to
tritone, and by extension their inversions out to major 7ths) are
represented within these four notes ( Eb, E, G, A ). This motif
in turn reflects not only the harmonic movement and structure of
the work, but also forms a basis for the 12 tone row which forms
the central section of the work.
But Cheynes at its heart is a meditation on place - of
rage within calm, of beauty within iron, of peace within an
ocean.
Cheynes is the first of four in a series of Ocean Songs centred around aspects of WA maritime history. It was commissioned for the Fremantle Arts Centre's 2011 soft soft loud chamber music series, made financially possible through Iain Grandage's Emerging Composer Fellowship from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust.
Work Details
Year: 2011
Instrumentation: Soprano saxophone, cello (with delay pedal), piano, percussion (2 players).
Duration: 8 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Dedication note: Dedicated to Fused (Musical group)
Commission note: Commissioned by Ian Potter Cultural Trust.. Commissioned for the Fremantle Arts Centre’s 2011 soft soft loud chamber music series, made financially possible through the Emerging Composer Fellowship from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust
First performance: by Fused (Musical group) — 10 Mar 11. Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth
Subjects
- Inspired by: Western Australia
Performances of this work
10 Mar 11: Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth. Featuring Fused (Musical group).
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