Birtwistle, Harrison: Night's Black Bird (2004) 12'
for orchestra

Scoring
3(II,III=picc).3.3(II=Eb,III=bcl,dbcl).3(III=dbn)-6.4(III=btpt*,IV=picc.tpt).4.2-perc(5): xyl/vib/marimba/t.bells/2wdbl/2guiro/claves/slit dr/BD(lg)/susp.cym/clashed cyms/metal tube**/hi-hat/tam-t(lg)/nipple gong(lg)-2harp-strings (min.16.14.11.10.8) * If no Bass Trumpet available, play on Tenor Trombone ** piece of scaffold tube c.40cm x 5cm set on a piece of polystyrene and struck with metal hammer large enough to make the maximum dynamic (ffff) .
Abbreviations (PDF).

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

World Premiere
8/21/2004
Kultur- und Kongresszentrum, Lucerne
Cleveland Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst


Press Quotes      Deutsch
"...shot through with a strange luminosity - a high, bird-like flute line, a delicate rustle of percussion, and the dark shimmer of string harmonics. The clarity and brilliance of the orchestra's sound - incisive brass, shrill woodwinds and strident strings - gave Night's Black Bird a vivid intensity, but it came with a sense of unease, as if there was secret yet to be disclosed."
The Guardian

Recommended Recording
The Hallé / Ryan Wigglesworth
NMC D156

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