Renga Miniatures

small ensemble
2007

Duration 9’
Instrumentation flute, clarinet, french horn, piano, violin, & cello
First Performance 15 November 2007, Royal College of Music, London; New Perspectives Ensemble under Clement Power
Further Performances
1.8.08 Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood Music Centre, U.S.; Fromm Players
18.9.14 Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne, Australia; Syzygy Ensemble
9.10.19 Helmut-Hentrich-Saal, Tonhalle, Düsseldorf; notabu.ensemble neue musik
Charlotte has a worldwide, exclusive publishing agreement with Birdsong
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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 or eight note 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.