Jenny Jackson COMPOSER

Cloudscape

(2017)

for flute choir


Description

I am fascinated by the sound of the flute choir which can be equally sweet and brash, and is reminiscent of the flute sound on a fairground organ. In composing the piece, I chose to celebrate the sameness rather than trying to find differences between the instruments, and to treat the choir as one big instrument.

To achieve the effect of masking and clearing clouds, the flute choir is divided into three groups with four different parts in each. Each group has its own unique set of pitches which are often combined to create blocks of sustained chords that fade in and out. I wanted to capture the feeling of a drifting and evolving cloudscape.

 
 

First performance

22.10.17

Sheffield Winter Garden

Sheffield Flute Choir 

Commissioned by 

Sheffield Flute Choir for performance at the 

Classical Sheffield  Weekend

Score

Available to purchase from Tetractys Publishing

Order here: Cloudscape


Duration 5 minutes

"We asked Jenny to write this piece for our performance in Sheffield Winter Gardens as part of the Classical Sheffield Weekend, and it worked wonderfully in this space. Many of our members were quite unfamiliar with contemporary music, and this was a gentle introduction for them to playing a piece without a time signature - working with durations and cues instead. It's a great piece for working on communication as an ensemble, using three groups of players who need to coordinate both within their own groups and with the other groups. It really encourages players to focus on the detail of the dynamics, to create the effect of sound 'drifting' from one group to another - depicting the passing clouds!"

Rachel Shirley - Director of Sheffield Flute Choir

Please let me know if you intend to perform one of my pieces: I would love to hear about it!