Renga Miniatures for Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Piano, Violin and Cello (2007)

From the Publisher

Renga Miniatures takes its name from the traditional Japanese poetic form of a Renga, on which the five miniature pieces are based. The form and content of a renga is made up of complex rules, some of which I have taken and translated into a musical language. For example, a renga is made up of a chain of stanzas, 17 and 14 syllables in length used alternately. I translated this into quarter note (crotchet) or eight note (quaver) beats and used this to guide the phrase lengths and duration of the individual pieces. The five movements represent the seasons in Japanese tradition; New Year is seen as a season of its own. An engagement with nature is also an important feature in a renga, which I found to be the main inspiration for my work. The combinations of colours available in the ensemble were the driving force behind the composition.

The composer Charlotte Bray has emerged as a distinctive and outstanding talent of her generation. Exhibiting uninhibited ambition and desire to communicate, her music is exhilarating, inherently vivid, and richly expressive with lyrical intensity

Performance duration (approx): 10'00

Item Details

Instrumentation

• Part 1: Flute doubling on Alto Flute doubling on Piccolo
• Part 2: Bb Clarinet doubling on Bass Clarinet
• Part 3: French Horn
• Part 4: Piano
• Part 5: Violin
• Part 6: Cello