Output details

Galgenhumoreske

Composition for orchestra

Commissioned by the Oxford Philomusica for performance alongside (and in dialogue with) Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Galgenhumoreske extends Harry’s interest in interrogating musical images of heaven. The opening section alludes to Mahler’s Fourth and Nielsen’s Sixth Symphonies, skewed by quasi-mechanical rhythmic processes generating material played by pizzicato strings and percussion. The middle section is defined by four isorhythmic parts: here, the quasi-mechanical opening is transformed into fully-fledged musical automata. Harry worked closely with members of the Philomusica and the work is composed from the perspective of the bass instruments (tuba, double bass, and contra-bassoon), inverting conventional orchestral hierarchy.