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- Judith Weir
Wake your wild voice (2008)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the International Double Reed Society for the 2009 IDRS Conference
Programme Note
Wake your wild voice is a duo for bassoon with cello accompaniment, lasting just under ten minutes. The bassoon plays a continuous virtuosic line, awakening, as the title suggests, a wilder, more passionate voice than the instrument is often allowed in classical music. The relationship between the bassoon and the accompanying cello could be compared to bagpipes; in this piece, the bassoon is the pipe (playing the melody) and the cello is the bag (providing a resonant chordal companion to the bassoon line).
The title is purloined from Sir Walter Scott's poem, 'Gathering Song of Donald the Black':
Pibroch of Donuil Dhu
Pibroch of Dunuil
Wake thy wil voice anew,
Summon Clan Conuil!
Come away, come away,
Hark to the summons!
Come in your war - array,
Gentles and commons.
The title is purloined from Sir Walter Scott's poem, 'Gathering Song of Donald the Black':
Pibroch of Donuil Dhu
Pibroch of Dunuil
Wake thy wil voice anew,
Summon Clan Conuil!
Come away, come away,
Hark to the summons!
Come in your war - array,
Gentles and commons.
Media
Weir: Wake your wild voice
Judith Weir: Wake your wild voice
Reviews
Judith Weir’s Wake Your Wild Voice offered soulful reflection. ...Weir makes the most from such simple elements. The melodic fragments hint at lyricism, like music waiting to be born.
5th November 2022
Judith Weir was present for her Conservatoir commission Wake Your Wild Voice for rhapsodising bassoon and drone-like supporting cello (a medieval effect), an enthralling piece which does exactly what it says on the tin.
24th July 2009
Judith Weir has forged a reputation for finely, often sparingly crafted music of considerable originality and, in common with numerous other of her works, Wake Your Wild Voice for bassoon and cello, draws on Weir’s Scottish roots for its inspiration. The title, drawn from Sir Walter Scott’s “Gathering Song of Donald the Black”, is reflected in music strongly imbued with Scots atmosphere, the bassoon part evolving into a technically demanding “wild” voice, exploring a side of the instrument rarely exploited in orchestral spheres, whilst the cello provides an initially simple chordal accompaniment, clearly drawn from the drone of the bagpipes.
22nd July 2009
Discography
Red Maple
- LabelBridge
- Catalogue NumberBRIDGE9587
- EnsembleCalidore String Quartet
- SoloistPeter Kolkay, bassoon
- Released6th October 2023