non vogliono, camminano

  1. ritorno dal nulla [re­turn from nothingness]
  2. danza degli uomini spenti [dance of dead men]
  3. come il vento sospinge le foglie secche [like the wind blows dry leaves]

non vogliono, cam­minano draws its in­spir­a­tion from a pas­sage in Primo Levi’s Se questo è un uomo [If this is a man], which de­scribes the music and sound­scape of the con­cen­tra­tion camp. The title and move­ment titles are drawn from this text and cor­res­pond in a loosely pro­gram­matic fashion to the music. There is a cer­tain beauty in the col­li­sions of cul­ture and cata­strophe, in the ex­tremes of things that meet, from the breaths of a slowly waking man to the crashing chords of the marching band, and it was this beauty that fas­cin­ated me.

Premiered as part of the University of Manchester’s Student Showcase of new works on May 12th 2008 at the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Manchester.

  • Instrumentation

    • Cornet (Bb)
    • Tenor Trombone
    • 2 Percussionists (Triangle, Suspended Cymbal, Hi-Hat, Snare Drum, Tam-Tam)
    • Clarinet (Eb & Bb)
    • Harp
    • Solo violin
    • Solo cello
  • Details

    • Duration: 7′
    • First performance: 12 May 2008, Vaganza