SKU: HL.49044074

ISBN 9790220134586. UPC: 841886021976. 9.0x12.0x0.075 inches.

Stimulated by my love of automata, this work for solo oboe takes its name from the invention of Wolfgang von Kempelen, who in the late eighteenth century constructed an extraordinary mechanical man powered by clockwork, dressed in a stylish Turkish costume and capable of playing chess. The chess player turned out to be a fraud but sparked many other thinkers and inventors to pondering what the possibilities of automation might be. In Hesketh's highly virtuosic work, the through-composed melody is subjected to a series of distortions by pulleys, cams, gears and cranks. There are also the onomatopoeic effects of winding up and whirring noises that add to the air of the mechanical.

SKU: BT.MUSM570362240

English.

Metamorphoses after Britten was written for Melinda Maxwell, for UYMP's Signals volume of new music for Oboe. It was first performed by Melinda at York University on 24th November 2010. I - A Mountain II - Fixation III - Flowers IV - Fountains Metamorphoses after Britten by philipvenables Metamorphoses after Britten are just that: four miniatures, each inspired by one of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe. Each movement, over its short course, transforms gradually from one thing to another, ending, with the exception of Fountains, in a short, cathartic coda. Some of the movements also take specific musical elements from Britten’s pieces. I verymuch viewed these pieces as musical Haiku, and in that sense I hope they embody a sense of peace, brevity and simplicity. The oboe version of Metamorphoses after Britten is dedicated to Melinda Maxwell. The saxophone version of Metamorphoses after Britten, with an additional movement, is dedicated to Vicki and Andrew Vaughan      - Philip Venables     .