Land of Cruelty
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Programme Note
Land of Cruelty is an experimental work written for oboe soloist and orchestra. It is dedicated to Sydney Symphony oboist Shefali Prior, and incorporates a form of real-time electronic processing to the soloist’s part known as ring-modulation. This occurs when the amplified signal of the oboe soloist is multiplied together with a modulating frequency provided by a double bass player, creating a harsh sonority reminiscent of the Australian landscape.
Land of Cruelty’s concept is the depiction of the many harsh landscape transitions of our continent where an area can be densely covered in life one year, but completely dry and devoid of life the next. The oboe soloist is the navigator of this journey and depicts the ‘voice of the land’, with much of its melodic material influenced by transcriptions of Australian Aboriginal melodies. The pitches of one melody entitled Malayah (quoted at the opening and closing of the work) are multiplied together to create the various ring-modulated effects. Each section of the work is defined by a ring-modulated sonority realised by the oboe soloist and double bass that is then re-synthesised by the orchestra before transitioning into a more harmonious sonority. These orchestrated colours then form a sonic canvas over which the oboe soloist is placed.
The creation and presentation of Land of Cruelty was made possible through the 2015 Australasian Performing Rights Association Professional Development Awards (APRA PDAs).
Peter McNamara 2019
Orchestration: 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Bsn, 4 Hn, 2 Tpt, 2 Tbn, Tba, Timp, 1 Perc, Vln I, Vln II, Vla, Vc, Cb, oboe soloist & live ring modulation.
Performances of this work (upcoming):
8 Dec 2019: Shefali Pryor, soloist with the Sutherland Shire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Clarke, Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sydney.
Programme Note
Land of Cruelty is an experimental work written for oboe soloist and orchestra. It is dedicated to Sydney Symphony oboist Shefali Prior, and incorporates a form of real-time electronic processing to the soloist’s part known as ring-modulation. This occurs when the amplified signal of the oboe soloist is multiplied together with a modulating frequency provided by a double bass player, creating a harsh sonority reminiscent of the Australian landscape.
Land of Cruelty’s concept is the depiction of the many harsh landscape transitions of our continent where an area can be densely covered in life one year, but completely dry and devoid of life the next. The oboe soloist is the navigator of this journey and depicts the ‘voice of the land’, with much of its melodic material influenced by transcriptions of Australian Aboriginal melodies. The pitches of one melody entitled Malayah (quoted at the opening and closing of the work) are multiplied together to create the various ring-modulated effects. Each section of the work is defined by a ring-modulated sonority realised by the oboe soloist and double bass that is then re-synthesised by the orchestra before transitioning into a more harmonious sonority. These orchestrated colours then form a sonic canvas over which the oboe soloist is placed.
The creation and presentation of Land of Cruelty was made possible through the 2015 Australasian Performing Rights Association Professional Development Awards (APRA PDAs).
Peter McNamara 2019
Orchestration: 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Cl, 2 Bsn, 4 Hn, 2 Tpt, 2 Tbn, Tba, Timp, 1 Perc, Vln I, Vln II, Vla, Vc, Cb, oboe soloist & live ring modulation.
Performances of this work (upcoming):
8 Dec 2019: Shefali Pryor, soloist with the Sutherland Shire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Clarke, Sutherland Entertainment Centre, Sydney.