Triptych: with a Trail of Human Presence

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for chamber orchestra

        

Instrumentation

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2.2.2.2 - 2.2.0.0 - timp - 8.6.4.4.2

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Programme Note

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'I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them... like a snail, leaving a trail of the human presence and memory trace of past events as the snail leaves its slime.' - Francis Bacon

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Triptych takes its inspiration from the work of Francis Bacon, specifically the above quote where he describes his paintings. The three 'panels', played continuously, are characterized by different modi operandi but use the same palette of sounds and inhabit the same world, much like a Bacon triptych would. The second panel quotes Stabat iuxta Christi crucem by John Browne from the Eton Choirbook, the serves as a sort of 'human presence' in the piece. The image of the crucifixion is also appropriate for the piece.

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JC