Abstract
Wild (2022) - Scott Wilson
I. Blossoming
II. Interlude (Water)
III. Small Things
IV. Hills and Skies
V. Cadenza (Wild)
With the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns much of the world shut down, creating an unexpected opportunity for ecological renewal as much of the human world withdrew from natural and semi-natural spaces, allowing those wild and transitional areas to slip back into a wilder state. Later when things began to slowly open many of us sought out such places as refuges, as areas were we could escape from the confines of our living spaces, and reconnect with the raw power of the wider natural world. There exists in this desire a contradiction, in our urgent need for spaces that manifest their beauty at least in part because of our absence.
Wild is inspired by that tension and ambiguity, and the hunger to find wonder in something beyond the constraints of the human world. Written in five sections played without interruption, the harmony of the work is derived in part from what are called multiphonics, special fingerings on the bass clarinet that allow for the creation of strange chord-like sounds. These can range from roars to the most beautifully fragile utterances. They are manifestations of non-linear aspects of the acoustics of the instrument; points where the arguably tamed and homogenised sound of the modern bass clarinet fractures and cracks open, allowing something wilder and more unruly in its physicality to emerge.
Wild was composed for Jack McNeill and the University of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Daniele Rosina, and is dedicated to them. I would also like to offer a special thank you to Jean-David Caillouët, for the use of his studio in Bangkok during the final stages of composing the piece.
I. Blossoming
II. Interlude (Water)
III. Small Things
IV. Hills and Skies
V. Cadenza (Wild)
With the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns much of the world shut down, creating an unexpected opportunity for ecological renewal as much of the human world withdrew from natural and semi-natural spaces, allowing those wild and transitional areas to slip back into a wilder state. Later when things began to slowly open many of us sought out such places as refuges, as areas were we could escape from the confines of our living spaces, and reconnect with the raw power of the wider natural world. There exists in this desire a contradiction, in our urgent need for spaces that manifest their beauty at least in part because of our absence.
Wild is inspired by that tension and ambiguity, and the hunger to find wonder in something beyond the constraints of the human world. Written in five sections played without interruption, the harmony of the work is derived in part from what are called multiphonics, special fingerings on the bass clarinet that allow for the creation of strange chord-like sounds. These can range from roars to the most beautifully fragile utterances. They are manifestations of non-linear aspects of the acoustics of the instrument; points where the arguably tamed and homogenised sound of the modern bass clarinet fractures and cracks open, allowing something wilder and more unruly in its physicality to emerge.
Wild was composed for Jack McNeill and the University of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Daniele Rosina, and is dedicated to them. I would also like to offer a special thank you to Jean-David Caillouët, for the use of his studio in Bangkok during the final stages of composing the piece.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |