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Diana Burrell was born in Norwich in 1948. She studied at Cambridge University and now lives in Harwich, Essex. After spending several years as a teacher, she became a free-lance viola player, but gradually concentrated her energies on writing music. Her first piece to receive widespread critical acclaim was the Missa Sancte Endeliente, a 50-minute work written for the 1980 St Endellion Festival. A massive composition for five soloists, semi-chorus, chorus and orchestra, the Missa incorporates settings of Cornish and Latin texts as well as a wide range of compositional techniques from micro tonality to modality. Brought to London for the Spitalfields Festival of 1983, the Missa provided the launching pad for an ongoing series of evermore illustrious commissions and an impressively wide-ranging, adventurous and distinguished body of work. Burrell’s first major orchestral piece, simply entitled Landscape (1988) has been described as depicting both a wild windswept countryside and a tough urban vista. The use of instruments in their extreme registers is a hallmark of the diversity of orchestral palette the composer puts at her disposal in all her works. Landscape is one of the recent ‘Encore’ winners (an award organised by the Royal Philharmonic Society and BBC Radio 3 and sponsored by the PRS Foundation). Diana Burrell’s body of work covers the spectrum of compositional achievement from the String Quartet (Gulls and Angels of 1993) to chamber ensemble pieces such as the vividly ritualistic dreamscape Barrow (1991), opera (The Albatross, written in 1987 and premiered to great critical acclaim by Trinity College of Music in June 1997) and of course her dramatic and colourful Symphonies of Flocks, Herds and Shoals (1995-6) which was a commission from the BBC and was premiered in 1997 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She has also written many works for young and amateur performers with both respect and imagination, never lowering her compositional sights or blunting the edge of her style. Important recent commissions include Bronze for the Brunel Ensemble and Gold for Philip Meadand the Royal Northern College of Music. 2004 also saw her write a major new work for choir and orchestra, And so the Night became, which was premiered in May 2005 by The Bach Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra. She is well known internationally both as a composer and lecturer, and has featured at concerts and university campuses worldwide. Fresh and vital, her music is uncompromising in its integrity whilst communicating directly to the listener. She has written of her need for ‘strong, rough-edged things, brave disrespectful shapes and sounds...’, as much a reference to her love of modern architecture as a declaration of her compositional creed. She has succeeded in creating a unique, personal language which is both primeval and unequivocally of our time. Diana is the Artistic Director of Spitalfields Festival in London and has also recently written a BBC commission for Loré Lixenberg and David Alberman with live electronics and a piece for Mark Knoop using accordion and piano, both of which were premiered in 2007. She has also just started on a major new series of pieces for organ with various ensembles which will be composed over the next five years. This cycle is made possible by the awarding of an Arts And Humanities Research Council Fellowship and is in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music which will host all first performances. |
LIST OF WORKS
Click on titles with links to call up a programme note
Orchestral
Violia Concerto: Das Meer, Landscape and Resurrection
solo viola with orchestra
Temper (2004)
free orchestration
The Four Temperaments (2003)
free orchestration
Flute Concerto (revised 2001 for chamber orchestra)
For solo flute and chamber orchestra - 17'
solo flute, 1111/1111/perc, piano, strings (11111)
Flute Concerto (1997)
3(picc)23(bcl)2/4331/timp.perc/hp/strings - 17'
Soloist plays alto flute, flute, piccolo.
fp: 8 January 1998, William Bennett (flutes), London Schools Symphony Orchestra/John Lubbock, Barbican Hall, London
Ring (1996)
wind orchestra (flexible scoring in 8 parts), 1perc - 5'
first performance: 1 July 1996, Borders Regional Wind Orchestra, European Youth Music Festival, Ishøj, Denmark
Clarinet Concerto (1996)
solo clarinet, 2222(cbn)/2200/perc/strings - 20'
first performance: 14 September 1996, Robert Plane (clarinet), Northern Sinfonia/John Lubbock, Hexham Abbey Festival
Dunkelhvide Månestråler (1996)
Texts from Lille Verden by Tove Ditlevsen (1917-76).
2222/2200/2perc/hp/str, solo contralto and cor anglais - 20'
first performance: 13 October 1996, Barbican Hall, London. City of London Sinfonia, conductor Richard Hickox
Symphonies of Flocks, Herds and Shoals (1995-6)
2 recorders. 4(2picc)4(2ca)34(2cbn)/6331/2perc/hp.pf/ strings (minimum 16.16.12.10.8) - 40'
first performance: 5 February 1997, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Michael Schønwandt, Royal Festival Hall, London
Enchaînements (1994)
2 ob, 2 hn, vn, vla (solo group), chimes, strings - 15'
first performance: 12 December 1994, The City of London Sinfonia, London
Viola Concerto
...calling, leaping, crying, dancing...
solo viola, 2222/2200/perc/strings - 20'
first performance: 6 October 1994, Jane Atkins (viola), Orchestra of Saint John's, Smith Square/John Lubbock, Norfolk and Norwich Festival
Anima
string orchestra (min.11111) - 8'
first performance: 3 September 1993, COMA, Sheffield
Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist da wimmelt's ohne Zahl, grosse kleine Tiere (1992)
string orchestra (min.44221) - 15'
first performance: 15 October 1992, Orchestra of St John's Smith Square/John Lubbock, London
Resurrection (1992)
2222/2200/perc/strings - 15'
first performance: 21 May 1993, Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Tamas Vasary, Newbury Spring Festival
Scene with Birds (1989)
3333/4331/3perc/strings - 12'
first performance: Norfolk County Youth Orchestra
Landscape with Procession (1988)
2 recorders, 2222/2331/2perc/pf/harp/strings - 12'
Written for BBC TV's The Cry of the Cosmos, Easter 1989
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Lionel Friend
Landscape (1988)
2222/2000/perc/harp/strings (min.44421) - 20'
first performance: Piccadilly Festival Players/Ivor Bolton
Archangel (1987)
2 ob, ca, 3 tpt (concertante group); 3033/4031/00000 - 20'
first performance: ECO Wind & Brass Ensemble/David Parry, Greenwich Festival
Praeludium (1983)
3222/4331/timp/3perc/strings - 12'
first performance: Fulham Symphony Orchestra/Joseph Vandernoot
Paragraph
mezzo soprano, violin, electronics
Piece No. 82
solo violin
Fragment
organ (published by Faber)
Terce (2005)
accordion and organ
first performance: 16 June 2005, Dutch Church, Spitalfields Festival, London. David Titterington, organ, Ian Watson, accordion
Longtemps ce fut l’Eté (2004)
soprano and piano
North Star (2002)
trumpet and organ
Festival (2001)
organ - 10'
first performance: Oundle Festival, Kevin Bowyer, organ
Constellations III (The Little Bear) (1997)
solo piano - 3' - published in ABRSM Spectrum Vol. 2
Constellations I & II (1995)
solo piano - 3' - published in ABRSM Spectrum Vol. 1
The Secrets of the Dark Pool in the Pine Forest (1995)
violin, piano - 3' (ABRSM Grade 5, 1997-2000)
Sequence (1993)
cello, recorded tape - 15'
first performance: 16 June 1993, Alhambra Theatre, Bradford.
Dance project, choreographer Gerry Turvey
Tachograph (1993)
baritone, piano - 15'
Text by Simon Armitage
first performance: 5 May 1993, Stephen Varcoe and Iain Burnside, South Bank Centre, London
Bright Herald of the Morning (1992)
clarinet, piano - 10'
first performance: 28 July 1992, Fiona Cross and Kathryn Page, Shropshire.
Lucifer (1991)
violin, trumpet - 8'
first performance: 2 July 1991, Mecklenburgh Opera, London
Aria (1991)
solo violin - 8'
first performance: 16 November 1991, Bradley Creswick, London
Arched Forms with Bells (1990)
organ - 16'
first performance: 6 August 1990, David Titterington, BBC Proms, London
Lament (1988)
bassoon or clarinet, percussion - 5'
Heron (1988)
cello, piano - 14' first performance: Lowri Blake and Caroline Palmer
Songs for Harvey (1988)
solo violin or viola - 3'
Ensemble
Piece No. 80
violin, piano, keyboard, percussion and electronics
Piece No. 81
violin, recorder, harpsichord, guitar and cello
King shall Bright Ring give in Hall (2003)
Soprano solo, oboe, horn, violin, harp
Gold (2001)
Commissioned jointly by Huddersfield Festival and Thames Valley University, premiered on 28th November 2001 by the Royal Northern Brass Ensemble and Philip Mead
For brass ensemble and piano - 15'
1321 (bass trombone), piano and gongs played by pianist.
Athletes (2000)
Commissioned by Sharp Edge, the new music ensemble of the RPO and 1st performed 29th May 2000 at the Albert Hall, Nottingham.
For 2 part chorus and mixed ensemble - 20'
0000/1010/2Perc, Sarrusaphone or Contrabassoon, strings (00111)
Black. Starlight. Bright. Cinnamon. Earth. (2000)
For ensemble - 12'
1111/1010 Piano, strings (10110)
Double Image (1999)
for ensemble - 15'
flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, fp. 3rd November 1999, Michael Tippett Centre, Bath by Double Image
Ritual Sentences (1999)
For string trio (violin, viola and cello)
Commissioned by the Enesco Trio and fp. 21st April 1999, Wigmore Hall, London
Lucid (1998)
double wind quintet
Earth (1998)
string quartet - 18'
first performance: 31 October 1998, New Zealand String Quartet, Hamilton, New Zealand
Bronze (1997-8)
1(picc)+,1(ca),1(bcl)+, sop.sax+, 1(cbn)+/1+,1+,1,1/ harp+, piano, perc, cimbalom (perc), str (1+,1+,1,1+,1+).[+ = also play bamboo chimes] - 20'
first performance: 20 June 1998, Brunel Ensemble/Christopher Austin, Bristol
Gate (1997)
6vn. 2 va. 2vc. cb - 2'
first performance: 14 April 1997 Guildhall String Ensemble, Wigmore Hall, London
Confession (1996)
any combination of 2 or more instruments - 5'
first performance: 26 May 1996, Chard Festival
Gulls and Angels (1993)
string quartet - 11'
first performance: 12 April 1994, Sorrel Quartet, London
Invocation for Justice (1992)
soprano, clarinet, viola - 2'
first performance: 17 August 1992, Mary Wiegold soprano, The Composers' Ensemble, Dartington
Barrow (1991)
horn, bassoon, cello/drums, electric guitar/drums, piano - 10'
first performance: 19 June 1991, Jane's Minstrels, London
Wind Quintet (1990)
flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon - 15'
first performance: 10 November 1990, Capricorn
Shadow (1988)
May be performed with Io!
2 va. 4 vc. cb. celeste - 8'
first performance: The Orchestra of St John's, Smith Square/John Lubbock
Untitled Composition (1988)
clarinet, cello, piano - 8'
first performance: 20 October 1988, The Mühlfeld Trio
Angelus (1986)
soprano. vc. cb. 2 bells/small gongs - 10'
first performance: A Man, A Woman and A Double Bass
Concertante (1985)
6 vn. 2 va. 2 vc. cb (or string orchestra) - 15'
first performance: Guildhall String Ensemble
Io! (1984)
May be performed with Shadow
3 tpt. 3 trb. strings (min. 64432) - 8'
first performance: Orchestra of St John's, Smith Square/John Lubbock
Pavan (1979)
soprano, baritone, va, vc, pno - 8'
first performance: 1979, Wren Consort, Spitalfields Festival
The Albatross (1987)
opera in 2 acts after story by Susan Hill, libretto by composer.
Duncan Pike - tenor, Hilda Pike - soprano, Ted Flint - tenor, Davey Ward - baritone, Old Beattie - contralto, Alice Flint - mezzo soprano, Esther Ward - mezzo soprano, barmaid - soprano, 4 children, 4 fishermen - 2 tenors, baritone, bass, orchestra: 2(picc)1(ca)2(bhn)1(cbn)/3000/3 perc/strings (min44321) - 90'
first performance: 10-12 July 1997, Trinity Opera Group and Instrumental Ensemble, cond. Christopher Fifield, director Stephen Langridge, Spitalfields Market Opera, London
Choral