LARGE ENSEMBLE

Venancio Mbande talking with the trees (1993/94) a concerto for quartertone marimba (and various wooden instruments) and fifteen instruments flt (picc/alto), ob (cor angl), Bb clt (A clt), bass clt, tpt, tbn, harp, cimbalom, 1 MIDI kbd (2 TX802s / 2 TX16Ws) 1 perc vln, 2 vla, vlc, c-bass Duration: 18 minutes Commissioned by Robert Van Sice and l'Itinéraire First performance: May 1994, Centre Pompidou, Paris Robert Van Sice/l'Itinéraire/Wood CD available (see CD-Store)

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Two men meet, each presuming the other to be from a distant planet (1995) a concerto for percussionist and twenty-four instruments flt (picc/alto), ob (cor angl), Bb clt 1 (Eb clt), Bb clt 2, bass clt (Bb clt 3), sop sax (bar sax), bsn, hn, tpt, tenor tbn, bass tbn, tba, 2 MIDI kbds, vibraphone, hp, 3 vln, 2 vla, 2 vlc, 1 c-bass Duration: 22 minutes Commissioned by the BBC for the 1995 Promenade Concerts First performance: September 1995, Royal Albert Hall, London Steven Schick/Critical Band/Wood CD available (see CD-Store) James Wood's brilliantly conceived second percussion concerto, premiered at the Proms... Wood is at his best exploring and expanding the range of the percussion's sonority, surrounding his performer, the American, Steven Schick, with a battery of newly invented instruments - 11 specially devised drums, cowbells tuned in quartertones and an extraordinary object called a microxyl. It was mesmerising to watch Schick play this formidable array but what was perhaps most fascinating was the body language Wood forced on his performer. In order to play the microxyl in the elegiacally beautiful central section Schick appeared to slump over the box. In the opening allegro, he attacked the instruments like a warrior. In the final section Schick had to dance between the drums. It was an extraordinary performance. About Wood as a conductor I have few doubts and the clarity he draws from his own ensemble, Critical Band, in both his own music and in Messiaen's is astounding. This is some of the finest contemporary music playing I have heard for some time. Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 13.9.95 This is an astonishing score, holding attention from first thwack to last. Steven Schick brushed and stroked with flamboyant elegance. Critical Band was conducted by the composer. Barry Millington, The Times, 13.9.95

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The Parliament of Angels (1995) a concerto for eighteen musicians picc(panpipes), ob, Eb clt 1(Bb and bass), Bb clt 2 (bass), sop sax (bar sax), tpt, tbn, tba, 2 perc, accordion, MIDI kbd (TX802 / EMUe64), hp, cimbalom, mandolin, guitar, vlc, c-bass Duration: 20 minutes Composed as a result of the 1993 Gemini Fellowship First performance: March 1996, Ars Musica Festival, Brussels Ictus/George-Elie Octors

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photos of the Bayeux Frescoes of musician angels

Audio Excerpt available

Journey of the Magi (2000) for large ensemble flt (picc/bass/conch), ob (oboe d'amore/conch), Eb clt 1 (Bb clt/bass), Bb clt 2 (bass), bsn (contra/conch), hn, tpt, tbn (conch), 7 percussion, piano 2 vln, vla, vlc, bass Duration: 18 minutes Co-Commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture (Commande de l'Etat), MUSICA Festival, and Les Percussions de Strasbourg for Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Les Percussions de Strasbourg First performance: 4 October 2000 Palais des Fêtes, Strasbourg Nouvel Ensemble Moderne/Percussions de Strasbourg/Lorraine Vaillancourt

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De telarum mechanicae (On the mechanics of weaving) (2007) for fifteen instruments flt, ob, clt/bass, bsn, tpt mandolin, guitar, harp, piano, vibraphone 2 vln, vla, vlc, bass Duration: 15 minutes Commissioned by Insomnio (Director, Ulrich Poehl), First performance: 18 November 2007 Huddersfield Festival Insomnio/Ulrich Poehl CD available (see CD-Store) Audio Excerpt available