Imagine a clock that keeps perfect time… until it doesn’t. Stumbling Chronos for ensemble short, minimalist work for ensemble that depicts the structured, yet fragile, nature of time.
for musicians and concert programmers
About this composition
In 1991, female composition students were invited to compose a piece of no more than three minutes for the ‘Beyond Biography’ congress, an event organized by the ‘Vrouw en Muziek’ (Woman and Music) foundation. The performance was given by the renowned Nieuw Ensemble, conducted by Loes Visser.
Depicting a Faltering Clock
This short piece of minimal music is, in all its simplicity, a depiction of time in the form of a clock. To represent this, the musical clockwork “rattles” to mark the ‘quarter hour’. A slightly longer rattle signifies the ‘half hour’, while the ‘full hour’ is allowed to be even more expressive. These minimal patterns run in blocks of five bars, contributing to the highly structured form of the piece. Only at the end does it go wrong; that is when Chronos stumbles and time—well, the piece—falls silent.
For performers
Instruments:
fl, ob, cl, bcl, bn,
tpl.bl, hp, pf,
2vn, va vc, db
Duration:
3′
Year:
1991
Premiere:
1 juni 1991
Nieuw Ensemble
Vredenburg
Utrecht
Category:
6-18 musicians
Language:
—
Lyricist:
—
Are you interested in performing this work? Please contact my publisher.
Renske’s sheet music
is published by Deuss Music.