related works
Effusion : for soprano saxophone and piano / Brendan Faegre
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Saxophone and keyboard instrument
Scoring:
sax-s pf
Canto de trabalho : for wind instruments, double bass and piano, 1982 / Amilcar Vasques Dias
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
1000 3sax 1230 pf cb
Litanie : voor blazers, piano, slagwerk en 2 lage strijkers, 1983, rev. '85 / Henk Keizer
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
2222 2100 4perc pf vc cb/vc
Weer Om Stuit : for ensemble / Guus Janssen
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
fl ob cl mand g hp pf perc vln 2vla vc db
composition
Dirt to Gold : for chamber orchestra / Brendan Faegre
Other authors:
Faegre, Brendan
(Composer)
Description:
“…there were possibilities within the limitations of everyday life, with the things that we look at that are disposable. Our lives can seem so limited and uneventful, but these things can be transformed. We can appoint ourselves to be – to be alchemists, turning shit into gold.” - Beck Hansen
Dirt to Gold tries to do just that, to take “worthless” sounds, sonic junk, and transform them into powerful, meaningful music. This transformation happens many times throughout the piece, and on many different levels. Abrasive thumps and squeaks crystallize into cool grooves, ever-shifting rhythms gradually settle into clear patterns, and aluminum foil makes several high-profile appearances in the orchestra.
When Roger approached me about writing a piece for the Debut Orchestra, my first task was to find an interesting connection between my own musical interests and that of Debut’s home in Los Angeles. This connection came in the form of my teenage infatuation with the music of L.A.’s Beck Hansen, particularly his album Odelay. Inspired by his ideas and music, I composed a work that marries Beck’s rebellious energy with my own musical language.
Brendan Faegre