We are now on a path towards a very different future, where young people’s experiences of the natural world will be vastly different from mine. Even if we make drastic alterations to our way of living, and reduce our impact on the planet immediately, we will not see any positive changes for a very long time. The fixed media track in this work rolls onwards, and although the player has some control over certain musical decisions, the destination is set. This piece attempts to capture recollections of past engagement with the sea/coast; each of the sections are a frozen moment in time, never to be re-visited. All sounds on the backing track were recorded by Alex South, in a sea cave, just below The Scores, in St Andrews.

In The Surf – getting out of my depth in the water and panicking, while playing in large waves after a storm.

Foghorn Dreams – falling asleep to the sound of the foghorn on the island of Fidra (in the Firth of Forth).

The Dead Whale – memories of finding a dead Minke Whale, while playing on a beach on a grey day in North Berwick.

Rowing in the Mist – getting lost in the mist at sea in a rowing boat, while on a fishing trip.

For Alex South; commissioned by sound, for first performance in October 2021.

Funded by the Hope Scott Trust.

From The Coast

A large ensemble work, from 2010.

Trawling through night.
Awake.
Sitting and waiting.

Nightfishing

Fakebake

A short orchestral piece from 2004, first performed in the Berlin Konzerthaus, by the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.

A hommage to one of those days where you can't quite get out of a bad mood?

I used to regularly get migraine headaches when I was younger, mainly caused by low blood-sugar levels (which I thankfully identified and learned to control a little, as the years have passed). This short piece is built around short, pulsating fragments that overlap and confuse each other, purposefully distracting from the occasional sonorous harmonies that attempt to struggle through to the end. The title comes from a phrase spoken to me by a fellow sufferer, towards the end of a long shift, whilst we were both working in a bar in Aberdeen during my student days, and seemed to perfectly encapsulate how physically drained I often felt, after spending hours at work with a headache.

my day of carnage

A short orchestral fanfare from 2002.

First performed by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Loughran.

Stentorophony

Performed by the North East of Scotland Music School Flute Choir

Emily Gow,
Emily Anderson
Kirsty Campbell
Heather Evans
Olwenn Stewart
Francesca Garston

Conducted by  Catherine O'Rourke

Score available to purchase from:

www.tetractys.co.uk

Colours of the City

Performed by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Wind Orchestra.

This short work was inspired by a phrase from a documentary about paths through forests, created by jungle elephants. It instantly evoked comparisons with urban life for me (Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow on a Saturday night, for example), with people/creatures of various sizes gradually moving in and out of view. To cement this mixture of humanity and the natural world, I have drawn on references to dance music (in this case, Jungle/Drum and Bass).

Jungle High Street

This piece is a homage to the music of Sauchiehall Street and the RSNO. It is constructed from a number of musical references, which includes the following:

– A Reel melody (a reference to Scottish traditional music)
– A fragment of a song by Gustav Holst (The Thought; a homage to Holst, who used to play in the orchestra)
– A brass fanfare, based on the Hallelujah Chorus (the first piece of music performed by the orchestra)
– A rock drum rhythm and accompanying bass-line (a homage to the amount of rock and metal bands I have seen performing live in Glasgow)
– 1930s dance-band material (a reference to the number of dance halls and cinemas on Sauchiehall Street).
– A hymn tune (a reference to the now-gone churches that are a sadly lost part of Glasgow’s heritage)
– A Buddhist melody (there is a Buddhist centre on Sauchiehall Street, which I have walked past for many years!)
– Orchestration in the style of Copland’s Corral Nocturne (from Rodeo; he conducted the work with the orchestra in 1964)
– The ‘Humming Chorus’ from Madam Butterfly (the first production by Scottish Opera, which the orchestra performed in)

Thanks to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for performing/recording this work.

Sauchiehall

A semi-theatrical work for SYMPOSiA (Flute, bass clarinet, violin, 'cello, marimba) and the Scottish Voices (2 sopranos, 2 mezzos).

Text taken from a helpsheet handed out to potential employees working in a cafe bar:

12 Steps to Great Service

1.	Greet guest within thirty seconds
2.	Take drinks order and return within two minutes (make suggestions)
3.	Take food order (Make suggestions)
4.	Deliver food cleanly (Always check food before taking out)
5.	Three bite check back
6.	Clear table correctly
7.	Present dessert menu
8.	Repeat steps 3, 4, 5 (Make suggestions)
9.	Clear table properly
10.	Take coffee order
11.	Present Bill properly
12.	Thank guest on leaving (First impression is always the last impression)


Bigger the sale the bigger the tip


12 Steps for a Delightful Evening

A short piano ballad, performed by Indian jazz pianist, Utsav Lal.

A Litle Austerity

A piece for contrabass flute and 12 solo strings, performed by Richard Craig and NYOS: Futures (the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland)

For many years, I have been obsessed with all species of fish, to the extent that I would probably class myself as an amateur icthyologist (someone who studies fish). I was particularly interested in large fish and sharks when growing up and although I have never got round to swimming with sharks, it is on the list of things to do.

I have a strong memory of snorkelling, while on a family holiday in Menorca, in 1993, and being transfixed by an Ocean Sunfish, which was circling the small bay in which I was swimming. Although it was a small member of this unusual-looking species, it was still some 6 feet long (and tall), with a number of smaller fish swimming alongside it and probably weighed many times the small frame of my 15-year-old self.

I imagine the contrabass flute in this work to act as a sort of instigator of musical material, dragging the 12 string players along with it, as it tries to find its way into the open.

Close to Shore takes its title from a book by Michael Capuzzo about the shark attacks that ultimately inspired Peter Benchley to write Jaws, in New Jersey, in the summer of 1916. 


Oliver Searle

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