Walking around Adelaide early in the morning listening to magpies
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Piano
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A reflective piano solo with magpie warbles
Program NotesIt’s six o’clock in the morning. The feet know where they’re going, but the mind wanders, still half-asleep. Bottebrush, bitumen, jacaranda, Stobie pole – all barely register in the semi-darkness. The sun waits behind the Adelaide hills and the streets are quiet.
But listen: a magpie is warbling… © David John Lang 2016 Performances NotesThis piece requires sensitive pedalling – much of it is to be played with "half pedal", and the ending works best with the use of a sostenuto pedal (if available).
The magpie bits should sound like magpies and stand out (in a quiet way!) from the rest of the piece. This work was first performed by Hugo Selles in the wonderfully picturesque Ukaria at Mount Barker Summit (South Australia), on 12 February 2017. I'd like to thank Hugo for the opportunity to compose this work, and for his performance of it.
The above recording is of a performance by Elsabeth Lang (back when she was Elsabeth Parkinson) in Elder Hall, Adelaide, for my 2018 PhD recital, recorded by Ray Thomas. |
Duration: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate/Advanced |