list works:
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Western Darlings
Western Darlings was commissioned in 1992 for Orkest de Volharding and was premiered by them conducted by Jurjen Hempel at the Isjbreker in January of the following year.The piece was an attempt to fuse together the style of writing that had preoccupied me during the mid 80s onwards namely Scottish folk traditional techniques such as psalmnody and bagpipe ornamentation -what Scottish composer hasn’t at some point gone through this process! – aligned with more intentionally awkward jarring and messy rhythms to a more distinctly de volharding sound that had, since my first introduction to it, always enthused me.
The work was written at a particularly unsettling time for me and it is fair to say that the ensembles approach to performing,as well as their warmth and friendliness gave me back to a large degree my interest in “contemporary” music.As a result the piece is dedicated to all the players of that first performance.
The title is not a reference to , as some suspect ex-girlfriends from Glasgow, but to something not entirely different.
Instrumentation
flute/3 sax/3 trumpet/3 trombone/hon/bass guitar/piano
First Performance
fp – Orkest de Volharding The Icebreaker Amsterdam 1993