…but the sound…

Andrews, Kerry

About the work

..but the sound… is a graphic score for a small ensemble: oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin and cello. The piece takes the form of single sound envelope which is used as the guiding structure for the whole piece and as the dynamic shape for each of the sixteen chords which comprise the first main section. These chords, played forte by the wind instruments, are built on the first sixteen overtones of C. During this section the cello and violin quietly play a drone bass C and the B four octaves above. The second section is formed from all the remaining notes between the C and the B, and is a kind of shadow, or reverberation of the first section (like a visual after image). This section is very quiet and leads us back into silence. …but the sound… is dedicated to Paul Servis, a friend and colleague who died in 1996.

First Performance: COMA and London Sinfonietta, 16th Feb 1997, The State of the Nation, South Bank Centre

Technical notes

This piece works well in its adaptation for flexible larger ensemble. It is a graphic score that incorporates conventional notation.

Substitutions and additions are possible among the wind instruments. Violas can play the violin part.