Whistles and Whispers from Uluru (2007)
(for recorder and string orchestra)

While I was composing the work for Australian Chamber Orchestra and Genevieve Lacey at my countryhouse on the island of Hiiumaa on the Baltic Sea, it was a springtime full of birdsong. The trees and bushes were covered by the veil of bright fresh green color. And yet I was haunted by the vision of the mysterious Uluru rock in the middle of the desert but in my inner imagination the true vision was mixed up with the surroundings of our nordic landscape. These continuously changing visions were always present, not in a firmly fixed mood but with permanently varied lightings and surroundings. That’s why I decided to give this piece a rather peculiar title Whistles and Whispers from Uluru.

The music begins in the highest register, a soloist performing rapid birdsong-like motifs on the sopranino recorder. The orchestral part consists mostly of crystalline sustained "soundclouds", each instrument performing its own voice. So we have the feeling of both extremely slow and fast music going on simultaneously.

Microintervals play quite an important role by forming the harmony in the opening section. The further development carries the tendency of widening and gradual embracing of the lower register. The orchestral part gets more intense and the soloist changes to the soprano, then to the alto etc.

The rhythmic drive reaches another level in the last section. The soloist and the orchestra form a lively ensemble presenting the common "musical time" after having been before in different "time zones" so to say.

I am grateful to Richard Tognetti, the wonderful ACO and a superb recorder player Genevieve Lacey – it has been a great pleasure to compose this piece for you!

Erkki-Sven Tüür