Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Judith Weir
Sundew (2014)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by High Heels and Horse Hair
Programme Note
The bog-based Sundew plant isn't as pleasant as its name suggests. It produces beads of fluid, resembling dew, but in fact a sticky deposit in which visiting insects become trapped. The plant closes in on the insect and digests it for the extra nutrition it needs in an acidic habitat.
Each of the 36 bars of the music can be understood as a time-lapse study of parts of this process. Often one instrument encloses and digests the music of the other. Occasionally one player tries to struggle free; at other times both exist motionless, stuck to each other. In the final bars, a lucky insect (the violin) escapes from the goo and flies off into the ether.
Performers Notes
The tempi and lengths of the bars, and the repeats and pauses within them is at the players' discretion.
Each of the 36 bars of the music can be understood as a time-lapse study of parts of this process. Often one instrument encloses and digests the music of the other. Occasionally one player tries to struggle free; at other times both exist motionless, stuck to each other. In the final bars, a lucky insect (the violin) escapes from the goo and flies off into the ether.
Performers Notes
The tempi and lengths of the bars, and the repeats and pauses within them is at the players' discretion.