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Augusta Read Thomas: Plea for Peace, Vocalise for Soprano & String Orchestra or String Quartet [Printed Music] Short Pieces for Orchestra
£50.00
In stock
Catalogue Number
NMP1026
for solo soprano & string orchestra (or string quartet)
12-page A4 saddle-stitched Conductor's Score & 5 x A4 saddle-stitched Parts
Duration: c.6½ mins
ISMN No: 979-0-708129-17-2
A myriad of consequences from the world’s first nuclear reaction - positive reverberations in cancer treatment, power, and science, negative impacts from bombs, death, waste, and the perpetual threats of war! The soloist’s elegant, wordless vocalise weaves in and out of the sustained harmonies in graceful counterpoint, drawing us closer to our common humanity. Simple harmonies slowly transform, becoming rich and complex at the insistent, dramatic climax: a wordless scream from the soul then a sonic space of meditation, reflecting on an absolute plea for lasting peace. The vocalise solo line can be performed by a range of instruments.
The soloist’s elegant, wordless vocalise weaves in and out of the string quartet’s sustained harmonies in graceful counterpoint, drawing us closer to our common humanity. Simple harmonies slowly transform, becoming rich and complex at the insistent, dramatic climax: a wordless scream from the soul. As the music’s opening glow returns, the voice seamlessly dovetailing with the strings, we return to the sonic space of meditation, reflecting on an absolute plea for lasting peace.
OTHER VERSIONS OF PLEA FOR PEACE AVAILABLE
NMP1266 Plea for Peace, Vocalise for soprano and small wind ensemble
NMP1400 Plea for Peace for flute, oboe, trumpet and string orchestra (available from August 2026)
Plea for Peace for Vibraphone with Crotale (A6), one small triangle and string orchestra or string quartet (available from September 2026)
Short Pieces for Orchestra
Nimbus and Lyrita have published a series of shorter orchestra works by Augusta Read Thomas, Richard Blackford, Gavin Higgins and George Lloyd. These Short Pieces for Orchestra (SPO) will be sold with a three-year, unlimited performance licence offering much better value for money than typical hire arrangements. Some pieces have been extracted from larger symphonic works and each is published with a descriptive name to support thematic programming and engage with the new “streaming” audiences. This series supports the desire to perform, programme and introduce audiences to new repertoire for less initial cost, and allows multiple performances for no additional cost. Each kit will contain a full conductors score and one “master part” per instrument along with a licence for the ensemble to reproduce and perform as often as they like for the next three years. Between three and fifteen minutes SPO are perfect for opening your concert or inserting just before the interval to create a talking point.
Manufacturer: Wyastone Estate Limited, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, NP25 3SR
Email: sales@wyastone.co.uk
Reviews:
The history of music is, in many ways, an assemblage of occasional compositions. Since the rise of art pour l’art in the 19th century, classical music purports to be abstract, but in the longer arc, compositions connect to specific occasions: a coronation, a requiem mass, a religious feast, a dinner party, a regal celebration. Such occasions and commissions present challenges—not least for the composer charged with responding to the myriad consequences of the world’s first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. Does one focus on the (positive) reverberations in cancer treatment, power, and science? Does one focus on the (negative) reverberations in bombs, death, waste, and perpetual threats of war? In “Plea for Peace,” these consequences are inextricable. The clean perfect intervals that begin and end the work give rise to both expansionist leaps and cocooning retractions. The soloist’s elegant, wordless vocalise weaves in and out of the string quartet’s sustained harmonies in graceful counterpoint, drawing us closer to our common humanity. Simple harmonies slowly transform, becoming rich and complex at the insistent, dramatic climax: a wordless scream from the soul. As the music’s opening glow returns, the voice seamlessly dovetailing with the strings, we return to the sonic space of meditation, reflecting on an absolute plea for lasting peace. Jennifer Iverson Assistant Professor, Department of Music and the College The University of Chicago
REVIEWS
“This is music that is always in motion, as if coming perpetually out of a magician’s hat. It leads but doesn’t direct, and is playful and subtle, dancing on light feet. It is music that conjures.” The Huffington Post
“A true virtuoso composer.” The New Yorker
“Thomas has secured for herself a permanent place in the pantheon of American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. She is without question one of the best and most important composers that this country has today.” Edward Reiche