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Quartet
2020
Recorder
- Program Notes
- murmuration is inspired by the natural dance form when huge groups of starlings come together at dusk and twist, turn, swoop and swirl across the sky in shape-shifting black clouds or ‘murmurations’, before setting into roost. The melodic material uses transcriptions of the pitches and rhythms of starling song as a starting point, following in a Messiaenic tradition of transcribing birdsong. This material is combined with elements from John Walsh’s 1715 publication ‘The Bird Fancyer's Delight’, an American instruction manual for the teaching of singing to caged birds, including starlings, using the then popular flageolet. The structure that this material adopts and the music’s drive and momentum is influenced by a different dance style altogether, taking inspiration from French composer Guillaume Connesson’s music resembling a discotheque-style, such as ‘Night-Club’ for orchestra and his ‘Double Quatuor’ for flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet and string quartet.
- Performer Credits
- Palisander
- Publisher
- Peacock Press (all rights reserved)
- External Links