Fragile Oasis

From Wind Repertory Project
Peter Meechan

Peter Meechan


General Info

Year: 2013 / 2014
Duration: c. 16:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Peter Meechan
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - £250.00; (digital) - £180.00   |   Score Only (print) - £60.00; (digital) - £60.00


Movements

1. The Light from Above
2. The Storm from Above (i)
3. Freya
4. The Storm from Above (ii)
5. The Oasis from Above


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II (first doubles Sop. Sax)
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium (Bass Clef & Treble Clef) I-II
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Bongos
  • Drum Set
  • Glockenspiel
  • Marimba
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Tubular Bells
  • Vibraphone
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Fragile Oasis is the name of a collective who describe themselves as “…a grass-roots participatory initiative that connects the shared perspective of astronauts from different countries and cultures with people on Earth, encouraging all to work together so that our planet is not only visibly beautiful, but beautiful for all”.

Many involved in the project are astronauts on the International Space Station (I.S.S.), who post on their website (http://www.fragileoasis.org) many different details of their experiments, photos from space, and some incredible video footage of our Earth.

One such time lapse video (a video made up many still images) was posted on their website by astronaut Ron Garan in 2011. It is made up of images taken from the I.S.S. of what Garan described as “...a couple of laps around our Fragile Oasis before coming back down [to Earth]” and features all kinds of amazing views from space.

Each of the five sections of this work relate to an aspect of the video -- either something literal or something more metaphorical. The opening section, i: The Lights from Above, is a musical description of the view of the Aurora Australis from above the lights. The second section, ii: The Storm from Above (part i), is also a musical portrayal of portions of the video clip -- in this case the many lightning storms we see from above. The storms that are so powerful on Earth appear as small bolts of electricity dancing through the clouds.

The third section, iii: Freya, has its roots in personal family tragedy. The name Freya derives from a Norse goddess who was associated with both beauty and love, and in this central section I wanted to write music that not only acknowledged how fragile life itself is, but that every day of it counts and should be celebrated.

iv: The Storm from Above (part ii) is again a reference to the lightning storms, but also to the huge hurricanes we see in the video. It leads us to the final section, v: The Oasis from Above -- a description of the size and grandeur of Earth, our Fragile Oasis.

Fragile Oasis is dedicated to Natalie Youson, in friendship.

-Program Note from score


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

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Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


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Resources

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