Secret Theatre is a classic of the international ensemble literature. As the title implies, it is instrumental theatre; great commotion predominates among the conflicting voices until one of them is allowed to present a monologue. The music becomes calm, the soloist “sings” a melody while the other voices comment, but soon the general ruckus returns. Birtwistle says, “What I do is something I call instrumental role-playing … I don’t write an actual piece and then add a number of instruments – it is more like a play with persons that way, how they sound and what they say.”