Peter Maxwell Davies: The Birds: Mezzo-Soprano: Score

This dreamlike and evocative piece from Peter Maxwell Davies was originally composed for Flute and orchesta. Here it is presented as Flute with Piano reduction and still captures the wonder and sanctuary of the composer's home surrounded by seabirds and seals that fire the imagination in childlike ways evoking images of mermaids and angels. The Flute solo is both tranquil and highly virtuosic and is well supported by the Piano accompaniment. The piecewas first performed in May 1999 at the Royal Concert Hall Dublin.

The task: to write a piece that could involve children as players singers and composers alongside a professional symphony or chamber orchestra. The solution: a peace-cry for the biosphere in which the collaborative nature of theenterprise is a metaphor for a wished-for human enlightenment to the ways of the natural world. Davies provides five musical elements and five ways of development and uses these to illustrate five branches of life on earth:water-plants trees fish birds and mammals (including man). There is a space for answers from children's instrumental groups and then a larger space in which the children can develop the given ideas perhaps with members of theorchestra. Davies returns as composer to depict through an excess of development creation turned sour. Finally everyone comes together with a unison hymn with orchestra and instrumental groups celebrating the turn of thetide.This work for young instrumentalists children's chorus and orchestra was commissioned by the Association of British Orchestras as the centrepiece of an education project which coincided with the implementation of theNational Curriculum for music in schools in England and Wales echoing similar developments in Scotland and Northern Ireland.Score. Duration c. 25mins.

The Spiders' Revenge is a short music-theatre work (duration about 25 minutes) designed for performance by primary school children. The work was written for Evie Primary School a small rural school in Orkney of about 60 pupils between the ages of five and eleven and was specially devised to enhance an environmental studies project on 'mini-beasts'. All the pupils in the school took part in the first performance. Two children playing in a garden delight in tormenting ladybirds snails spiders and other living creatures who they claim 'have no right to be'. The spiders teach the children a salutary lesson during the course of which they learn a great deal aboutthe ways of these creatures finally recognizing the wonder of the insect world and acknowledging that all 'have their place on the earth'.The songs include simple recorder and percussion parts and guitar chords. Vocal part. This is a special item which is made to order. Please e-mail our Mail Order Department for further information.

The Spiders' Revenge is a short music-theatre work (duration about 25 minutes) designed for performance by primary school children. The work was written for Evie Primary School a small rural school in Orkney of about 60 pupils between the ages of five and eleven and was specially devised to enhance an environmental studies project on 'mini-beasts'. All the pupils in the school took part in the first performance. Two children playing in a garden delight in tormenting ladybirds snails spiders and other living creatures who they claim 'have no right to be'. The spiders teach the children a salutary lesson during the course of which they learn a great deal aboutthe ways of these creatures finally recognizing the wonder of the insect world and acknowledging that all 'have their place on the earth'.The songs include simple recorder and percussion parts and guitar chords. Tuned percussion part. This is a special item which is made to order. Please e-mail our Mail Order Department for further information.