Third from the Sun
Margaret Brouwer
About this work:
There is a sense of stillness in the forest. It is a silence that is alive with whispers almost too quiet to hear - sounds that, regrettably, are so often covered by modern noise. In the first movement, the forest's breathing silence is alluded to by the use of faint rustling, almost soundless, non-pitched orchestral sounds and the quiet calmness of static clusters of semitones. Modern man's life rhythms superimposed over the earth's natural rhythms inspired the form of the second movement. Seldom converging, forces like human time as opposed to geological time and man's technical knowledge in contrast to primal instincts and perceptions, seem to go forward on two separate levels unaware of the other. Similarly here, two musical ideas progress side by side, although independently, in separate, overlaid forms. A repeated note motive and rhythmic complexities inspired the use of the Fibonacci number series in sections of this movement.
Year composed: 1988
Duration: 00:13:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:Standard Orchestra
Instrumentation: 1 Piccolo, 1 Flute, 1 Alto Flute, 3 English Horn, 2 Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 2 Bassoon, 20 Contrabassoon, 4 Horn in F, 3 Trumpet, 3 Trombone, 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 3 Percussion (General), 1 Strings (General), 1 Harp
Instrumentation notes: orch: 3=3*33 4331 timp, perc(4) synth hrp str