excerpt :

"Out of the Blue" (296K)

performed by :

The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

conducted by : David Porcelijn

To purchase this item, click here to email your order.

Upon receipt of your email we will advise of price & shipping details.

“Out of the Blue” was composed when I was emerging from a “blue” period in my life brought on by a car accident. Whole days spent composing left me with nothing but blank pages. It tooks months for the stream of ideas to re-establish their flow. “Out of the Blue” was the result. This single movement work draws on the unity of a tightly knit small ensemble: a standard string orchestra featuring, from time to time a solo violin & solo viola. It gains its energy from displaced accents & a distinctive piling up of parallel or near parallel melodic parts to create a sense of propulsion.

The central section, by contrast, is fragmented & sparsely textured, lapsing into introspection & reflection – as if the players are pondering over the musical material. Motives are slowed down, spread out, & shared between parts. Dreamy tremolos & floating chords pave the way for a return to the opening ideas by way of a limping waltz. The concluding section once more features the riffs (melodic fragments) & rhythmic patterns derived from blues music.

"Out of the Blue" was commissioned by the Australian Chamber orchestra