Sea Echoes

Details

Year: 2008

Duration: 3'30"

Instrumentation: fl with glissando headjoint

Program Notes

Sea Echoes for solo flute with sliding head-joint was composed in July 2008 at the suggestion of William Dowdall, to whom it is dedicated. The sliding head-joint is a relatively recent innovation, adding a range of possibilities unavailable on the conventional flute, the most obvious being a true glissando. I was determined from the beginning however, not to create a series of special effects, but to compose a piece, where the new possibilities arose naturally as an extension of the musical argument. As the title suggests, the work is inspired by the undulating shape of the waves, the sibilant whispers as they arrive and retreat from the shore and the distant suggestion of bird and whale song. Overall, I have tried to create a sense of evocation and mystery rather than direct reference.

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