Duration 7:45 min
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Dissenting Views is a musical depiction of a room full of people, all of whom are speaking, but none of whom are listening.
In a world where "agreeing to disagree" is an increasingly rare phenomenon, I wanted to create an analogous piece that demonstrated how varying, or indeed dissenting views, can contribute to a more well-rounded, respectful and holistic understanding of any issue.
This piece is dedicated to the memory of John Barnes Chance (1932-1972), whose Symphony No. 2 I had the great pleasure of initially performing with the Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra during my tertiary studies. All three movements of the symphony are constructed entirely from a four-note cell, the intervals of which I have borrowed for this piece, albeit in different arrangements; these notes are first played by the flute in bar 6.
The piece concludes with an amalgamation and recapitulation of much of the thematic material from the entirety of the piece, which culminates in a frantic flurry of triplet-semiquaver runs as each instrument vies for the last word.
Do they eventually agree? Does it really matter? - Martin Cheney
Instrumentation: Picc, Fl 1 2 3 4, Ob 1 2, Bsn 1 2, CBsn, Eb Cl, Cl 1 2 3 4, Bs Cl, S Sx, A Sx, T Sx, B Sx, F Hn 1 2 3 4, Tpt 1 2 3, Tbn 1 2 3, Bs Tbn, Euph, Tba, Dbl Bs, Timpani, Vibraphone, Suspended cymbal, Tom-toms (3 drums), Whip, Bass drum, Triangle, Hi-hat