Score
Invisible Cities : for large orchestra / John Polglase.
Library shelf no. 784.2/POL 2 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
The title and inspiration for this work comes from the book
'Invisible Cities' by Italo Calvino. In its collection of
evocative and beautiful vignettes the traveller Marco Polo
converses with the great Kubali Khan, revealing to him his empire
through the cities he has visited both real and, increasingly as
the narrative progresses, of invention. The empire of
imagination, beginning as an adjunct to the real, becomes the
abstraction of all the Khan's (and Polo's) conquests and desires,
while at the same time describing that singular, constant city;
Venice.
Part I describes the entrance of the Great Khan into audience
with his ambassadors and petitioners, preceded by his herald. In
Part II, transitional material derived from Part I links the
individual movements together. This material is primarily from
The Ambassadors and Petitioners, but on occasion the
Khan rouses himself as well.
Work Details
Year: 2017
Instrumentation: Piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contra bassoon, 6 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion (4 players), timpani (2 players), 2 harps, celeste, strings.
Duration: 35 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Subjects
- Inspired by: Literature & Poetry
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