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
Duration: 17’
Instrumentation: 2 Pan-pipes, 2 alto saxophones, bass-clarinet, 2 sampling keyboards, octopads (with sampler), 5-string violin, 5-string cello, electric guitar, electric bass
First Performance: Bristol, April 18th 1993
Gavin’s Notes:
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The Archangel Trip (1992)
This piece, written for Icebreaker, uses most of the instruments available within its unique line-up. The title, and aspects of the musical imagery, comes from a pun derived from Icebreaker’s name and inspired by a documentary film about two Russian icebreakers that ply the seas above the northern coasts of Russia. The home port of the ships is the north-western town of Archangel and the two ships move independently through these frozen and inhospitable seas – one sailing from east to west, the other from west to east – and meeting occasionally when their paths cross. The piece, then, becomes a kind of journey, moving from one musical state to another. It begins and ends in home territory, a sequence of drones derived from Japanese court music. The central section is an extended arioso for saxophones, doubled at times by the electric guitar using an E-bow, accompanied by electric strings, rough-hewn percussion and hocketting pan-pipes.
The idea for the piece was suggested in part by Jules Verne’s novel Measuring a Meridian.
