related works
Sonate : voor piano, 1997 / Edward Top
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
Aus Jotunheim : Suite für Orchester / Julius Röntgen
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2fl 2ob ob(eh) 2cl 2fg 4h 2trp 3 trb tb hp timp perc str
Pantomime : opus 64a, voor orkest, 1959 / Lex van Delden
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
1121 2220 timp perc hp str
Schemselnihar : for orchestra, 1929 / [ed.: Odilia Vermeulen and Ton Braas], Leo Smit
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
4343 4331 timp perc cel 2hp str
composition
Helix (2022 revision) : for orchestra / Edward Top
Other authors:
Top, Edward
(Composer)
Description:
Helix consists of a single motive that occurs in five different speeds. At the opening of the work it can be heard on its own - slowly - in the horn and strings, followed by denser sections where the music intensifies through diminution (the motive in faster appearances), spiralling in and out of the different speeds. An echoing technique derived from electronic delay as found in rock music emphasizes this spiralling. This echo can be heard throughout the six-minute composition, but starts right at the beginning as a layer in bassoons, percussion, harp and piano. The work shifts through different diatonic modes where Corellian suspension chains in the strings, again, underscore the spiralling motion. These elements combined result in a weightless twirling that eventually gravitates towards a more grounded climax.