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At the White Edge of Phrygia (1983) |
for chamber orchestra - c.19'
Commissioned by the The Academy of London Chamber Orchestra (Director, Richard Stamp) with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain with additional funds for orchestral materials from the American Music Center Composer Assistance Program, New York, 1983.
First performance: 20 June, 1983 Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London. The Academy of London Chamber Orchestra, Simon Bainbridge, conductor.
Compact disc recording: The Orchestra of St. Johns, Smith Square, London (John Lubbock, conductor) ASV label (UK), CD Title: Snakebite CD DCA 991 (released 1997)
The title refers to the use of "white sound" and the use of the Phrygian scale or mode: e to e on the keyboard (with no sharps or flats). In the ancient Greek doctrine of Ethos in which an ethical character was assigned to each mode, the Phrygian mode was characterised as the scale which evoked ecstasy and passion.
Stylistically the work has often been called "post-minimalist" since it is a fusion of both American minimalism and the European symphonic tradition. The modal harmonic basis and extensive use of repetitive phrases and patterns are elements usually associated with the so-called minimalists, but this work also exhibits a clear, three part formal structure as well as a definite feeling of growth, climax and dénouement, elements not usually associated with minimalist music. The orchestration is sprinkled with numerous extended techniques such as the strings using pencils or short sticks to play their instruments, the wind players blowing air through their instruments ("white sound"), the brass popping their mouthpieces and the piano "prepared" with rubber wedges stuck between the strings.
From the White Edge of Phrygia is a full orchestra version of this, the original 1983 chamber work, and was commissioned in 1984 by the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet for the ballet, Median, choreographed by Jennifer Jackson.
Notes © 1999 Stephen Montague