w16262
| Title | Ceol Chrann na Gaoithe (Wind-Tree) |
| Contributors |
Derek Ball (composer) |
| Composition date | 2004 |
| Duration (mins) | 7 |
| Category | chamber quintet wind |
| Instrumentation | Fl Ob Cl Bsn Hn |
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| Key signature | |
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| First performed | |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | This piece for wind quintet is written for the opening of a new wind-turbine project near Fintry in the Campsie hills north of Glasgow, a project initiated by local inhabitants and guided by my former colleague Martin Turner. Wind turbines, thier giant blades sweeping lazy arcs in the sky, have a kind of poetry about them which accords well with their impeccable environmental credentials : their sustainability, their refusal to pollute, and their versatility in terms of scale. The simple elements that inform the music are the wind itself, the idea of rotation, the image of things fluttering in air currents, and the transformation of energy from one form to another. The piece begins and ends with the free play of wind. The Irish Gaelic title 'Ceol Chrann na Gaoithe' means literally 'music of a tree of the wind', and its English translation is an obvious word-play on the name of wintry Fintry itself. An observant person glancing through the score will notice that it is divided into units from 93 to 102. That is because, although it stands as a completely self-contained piece, it is also part of a much greater and as yet unfinished wind quintet work. The method I am using for the series of pieces is the same as that used by the builders of the Great Wall of China. Thus, the first piece of the series, called 'Ceol Gliondrach', consisted of units 1-18, and this is the second of the series. The third piece, when the occasion for its composition arises, will probably start somewhere else again. Eventually there will be a huge structure with 10 or more pieces which, if someone were reckless enough to play them all in one go, would last about 90 minutes. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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