Half Eaten Apples

Gittins, Kate

About the work

Half Eaten Apples was written with the COMA ensemble very much in mind. Originally a poem, it became a song for voice and chimes, first performed as part of a music theatre event in the Nottingham Now Festival in 1994. After the 1996 COMA Summer School Kate was inspired to write a piece for large ensemble and decided to re-work the song replacing the voice with solo oboe.

First Performance: CoMA London/South, 13th Apr 1997, Oxford Festival of Contemporary Music, Oxford

Technical notes

In this arrangement, the original vocal part is replaced by a solo oboe which is accompanied by a large mixed ensemble including a prominent (though not difficult) part for prepared piano. Wind parts can be doubled and substituted. Instrumentalists are also required to play a variety of percussion, including cymbals, egg-shakers, rain-makers and plastic bags. The many tempo changes (both gradual and sudden) offer a challenge for the ensemble but individual parts are eminently playable.