related works
Farewell Songs : for countertenor, Baroque ensemble, and Chinese instruments / Edward Top
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and instrument(s)
Scoring:
zang suona 2erhu saxkbut perc cemb vn vc db
Sense : for orchestra and the audience / Petra Strahovnik
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2fl 2ob 2cl 2fg 4h 3tpt 2trb trb-b tb 3perc hp pf acc str
Little Lethe symphony : voor orkest / Hans Kox
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2222 2200 timp str
Symfonietta : voor kamerorkest, VII-VIII-1943, op. 26 / Ary Verhaar
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
0100 1000 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.