This other Eden

oboe and piano
2020

Duration 9′
Instrumentation oboe, piano
First Performance 22 January 2021 Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Germany; Cristina Gómez Godoy (oboe), Mario Häring (piano)
Commissioned by the ECHO (European Concert Hall Organization) for the ECHO Rising Stars tour
Charlotte has a worldwide, exclusive publishing agreement with Birdsong
Purchase Materials
Further Performances
04.02.21 Philharmonie Luxembourg; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
19.02.21 Konserthuset Stockholm; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
05.03.21 Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
09.06.21 Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
12.11.22 Müpa Palace of Arts Budapest, Hungary; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
21.01.23 Sage Gateshead, UK; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
24.01.23 Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Germany; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
19.02.23 Palais des Beaux-Arts (BOZAR), Brussels; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
09.03.23 Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
10.03.23 Barbican Centre London; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
12.03.23 Kölner Philharmonie; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
23.03.23 Wiener Musikverein; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring
12.05.23 Casa da Música Porto; Cristina Gómez Godoy, Mario Häring

Opening in unison, the oboe and piano sing and ring out, like bells tolling. Darkly defiant, the voices are strong-willed and resistant. Fear, contained within a (supposed) protective wall is illustrated musically by a pendulous piano accompaniment, draped around a melancholic yet expressive oboe line. Later, a solo passage for the oboe holds a longing, yearning quality, before the tolling returns to end the section.

The second movement is flighty and fragile. Has freedom been granted or wrested away? Like birds in the air, the music here flutters around freely. Now, intense and gritty, the third movement captures a sense of resigned disbelief: the dissonant discourse of a nation. Separate voices make statements and pose questions, with no answers to be found. The music is left hanging, high in the air.