Written for: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra / Ilan Volkov

Category: Orchestral

Year Composed: 2016

Duration: 16 Minutes

Orchestration: picc, fl, ob, eh, cl, bcl, bn, 2hn, 2tpt, tbn, 2tba, 4perc, hp, str

Availability: Enquire

Performances:

First performance:

– 7 May 2016 Fruitmarket, Glasgow as part of at Tectonics 2016 Festival by Ilan Volkov and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Notes

The orchestral piece was written as a spatial work for the Old Fruitmarket venue in Glasgow and uses a special seating plan. By positioning the musicians all around the hall, including the upper galleries, I explore the natural surround sound of this old market space and create, as it were, an off-the-wall market visit for the preambulating audience. In fact, the structure of the piece takes the listener from the clanks of setting-up stalls, via some vociferous market trading, all the way ’til market closing time. The musical material is derived from transcriptions of market vendors’ calls and shouts collected from around the world. The sound of scaffold tubes within the percussion parts forms the backbone of the piece and brings alive the counterpoint of rhythms and melodies from the markets of Taiwan, Morocco, Greece and Peru as well as the streets of Italy, India, Spain and the UK, to name just a few. The piece can also be performed in a more traditional setting, with the full orchestra on stage, if it is not possible to re-create the original seating arrangement. 

C.K. 2016