For bassoon and electroacoustic sounds
Four continuous movements exploring the same number of different types of twilight (civil, nautical, astronomical and true night). The piece explores these four stages within a sound world where the bassoon is the leader and the electroacoustic sounds define the boundaries of the relationships. Sound material for the recorded part and general musical ideas developed from bassoon gestures that try to evoke the daily and almost imperceptible process of light fading away and night covering the sky. Relationships which work as structural points experiment with the fact that light, specially sunlight, and sound are more closely related than we usually think. The sunset is not necessarily a slow-movement process. ‘Twilight’ was commissioned by the Spanish Ministry for Culture (MEC) and composed at LIEM-CDMC in Madrid, Spain and at London City University’s Electroacoustic Music Studios. Premiered at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid in July 2001, the piece has also been performed in Hungary, Mexico, Argentina, and the USA by different bassoonists. I want to thank Peter Dodsworth, Gyorgy Lakatos and Dominique Deguines for their help with the piece. ‘Twilight’ won Honorary Mentions at the 2002 International Competition of Electroacoustic Music and Sonic Art Bourges and at the 2001 Luigi Russolo competition.