STRING ORCHESTRA
minimum 6•6•4•4•2 plus 2 Harps

Duration: ca. 7 minutes
Composed: 2019

Programme Note: 2018 has gone on record as the worst fire season in Western Canada.  It broke the record which was set the previous summer, 2017.  Close to 13,000 sq km of British Columbia was burned, and clouds of smoke and ash travelled across Canada affecting air quality and visibility in many provinces.  One cloud made it all the way to Ireland, and smoke was visible from space.

I set out to write a different kind of piece about Canada:  one that combines beauty and devastation; one that acknowledges our fragile relationship with an ever changing ecology.  If Canada is defined by it’s majestic landscapes, clean water, crisp air, and vast forests, what does the ever-increasing deforestation say about us?

The piece was commissioned by the Senior String Ensemble at De la Salle.  It is a single-movement work of roughly 7 minutes.  The strings give the illusion of heat and flame, but also the very human side of remorse and regret and even hope.

Premiere: First performance, De la Salle Senior String Ensemble, Jason Hutt, conductor, April 30, 2019

Sample: