Alchemical Fire is the slow transforming flame which turns
base material into gold; the strange luminosity which transmutes the prima materia
of the human personality into the fully realised individual. The music reflects
this with an overall metamorphosis from a slow-moving, amorphous texture with
prominent upper woodwind and sliding strings to a more rhythmically driven music
featuring angular and jagged motifs and gestures. This global change is the
accumulation of smaller changes that occur throughout on a shorter time scale.
The more localised ebb and flow of motifs and momentum mirror the action of
a fire.
This ensemble is characterised by extremities in orchestral colour as a result
of being a combination of so many different instruments. I chose to heighten
this effect, particularly in the woodwind, by allowing the piccolo and contrabassoon
to feature throughout the piece, thereby extending the combined register even
further. If the piccolo is characteristic of the opening luminous section, where
it initiates a conversation between the upper woodwind, then the contrabassoon
is a catalyst for the more agitated rhythmic music, first occurring at Bar 31.
Through a process of ignitions and cessations, the faster music tries to dominate
and eventually the strings become stuck in a loop. But one final flare up of
the wind and brass releases the strings and leaves the struggling contrabassoon
behind, as the piece eventually burns itself out. Alchemical Fire is dedicated
to Robert Saxton.
© Emily Howard 2004