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Scoring

2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=Ebcl).2(II=dbn)-2.2.0.0-timp.perc(4)-strings

Abbreviations (PDF)

Publisher

Boosey & Hawkes

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
23/10/2021
Music Center at Strathmore, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop
Composer's Notes

Color Field was inspired by Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) – a powerful example of the artist’s Color Field paintings, featuring red and yellow framing a massive swash of vibrant orange that seems to vibrate off the canvas.

Whilst creating music that evokes colors, I explored synesthesia - a perceptual phenomenon whereby a person can hear sound, pitch or tonal centers and then correlate them to specific colors, and vice versa. In the case of composer Scriabin, he associated specific pitches with specific colors, which I have adopted as tonal centers for the three movements of this piece: Yellow = D, Red = C, and Orange = G.

Yellow evokes a hazy warmth and introduces a melodic theme, first heard as a very slow bass line, and then revealed in the middle of the movement in the strings and winds. In Red, the fires blaze with bold percussive patterns and lilting lines. In Orange, the music becomes still and breathes, and then escalates once more, incorporating elements of Yellow and Red to create Orange.
–Anna Clyne

Reproduction Rights:
This program note may be reproduced free of charge in concert programs with a credit to the composer.

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