Repertoire examples

David Burnand Night Scene (2001)

For Kingma System alto flute and electronics
Published by Tetractys
Duration 8'30

I composed this piece specially for Carla Rees and her 1/4-tone alto flute. It originated as solo cues for a film that I was scoring for FilmFour, to accompany some mysterious night scenes featuring an old woman and a wild pig moving though woods. However, the director was adamant that there should be no flutes in the score, so the cues were reworked into a piece with electroacoustic accompaniment. From the outset, Carla was central to the development of this composition. Gradually I discovered - largely through trial and error, and Carla's guidance - what was possible with this extraordinary instrument. Carla gave the first performance at her Masters final recital, in October 2001, at the Royal College of Music

Night Scene (excerpt)

composer's website

Coreen Morsink Andromache’s Recitativo, Aria and Subtext (2010)

For Kingma System alto flute
Published by Tetractys
Duration 7'30

Andromache's Recitativo, Aria and Subtext is a "song" for quartertone alto flute where the words are played rather than sung. The recitativo follows the example of ancient Greek music using the text as a base for the notes and rhythm. The Aria moves away from direct use of speech-rhythm but still uses the number of syllables as a means of ordering the phrases.

The text is then reflected by the music. The subtext is where the characters get to play out their "real" emotions. These are the thoughts of Andromache, Hermione and the goddess Thetis who are the main female characters of Euripides "Andromache". Andromache and Hermione are the victims of society and war, frustrated and hoping for something better in life. Thetis is the cold goddess looking disdainfully at the situation.

The English translation of the text used is that of Philip Vellacott because his work shows the real universal emotional elements in all the characters. His translations also follow very closely to the original ancient Greek, which I have written in the opening phrase to give an example. As much as possible, the flautist must try to be each character: to play the role, as would an actor/actress on stage.

The actual notes follow the modal genera from ancient Greece, using quartertones and thirds of tones as well as semi-tones and whole tones, which were all a part of music in approximately 5th-2nd century BC. The equivalent in cents (1/3 of a tone equaling 66.6 cents) has been included in the score if the flute player wishes to play in numeric value. Well tempered tuning otherwise is to be used with a quartertone equaling half the size of a semi-tone.

Andromache’s Recitativo, Aria and Subtext (excerpt)

composer's website

Michael Oliva Apparition and Release (2005)

For Kingma System alto flute and electronics
Published by Tetractys
Duration 11'00

There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion (C G Jung)

Apparition and Release (excerpt)

composer's website

Elizabeth Winters White Bird - blackbird (2011)

For Kingma System alto flute
Published by Tetractys
Duration 7'00

White Bird - blackbird can best be described by imagining the following scenario. A person is gazing at a photo of a white bird, exotic and rare, which the photographer has travelled for miles to capture in a perfect shot. Outside the window, a small blackbird is hopping around on the dirty pavement. At first, the person doesn't notice the blackbird, and even when he does he quickly returns to his picture. The blackbird has no interest for him, when he has such a perfect photo to gaze at. However, the antics of the blackbird eventually capture the person's attention and gradually draw him away from his photo. The white bird starts to seem rather fake in comparison to the blackbird. Finally, the person is transfixed by the blackbird – and the photo is forgotten.

The opportunity to write for quarter tone alto flute allowed to me further explore the use of the natural harmonic series, which has featured in several of my previous compositions. This also allowed me to differentiate between the material for the white bird and the blackbird – the blackbird uses quarter tones, while the white bird doesn't. Although the material for the white bird and the blackbird are drawn from the same source, the white bird material remains static while the blackbird material quickly evolves to become based around material drawn from the harmonic series, and therefore incorporating quarter tones. Over the course of the piece, while the white bird centres around a limited set of pitches, the blackbird material quickly transforms through a progression of different pitch sets to finally arrive on the G harmonic series by the end of the piece – the only time I use the series in its purest form.

From the moment the person first notices the blackbird; both 'birds' are always present in the music. As one is focussed on, the other is still present in the background. As the piece progresses, the blackbird begins to dominate the music becoming even more vivid and alive, while the white bird material, reduced to only a few pitches, almost disappears by the end.

White Bird - blackbird (excerpt)