my day of carnage
Oliver Searle
Description
Instrumentation Genre Ensemble (with conductor)
Tag orchestra
Duration 5 minutes
Instrumentation Piccolo [1 player]; Flute [2 players]; Oboe [2 players]; Clarinet [2 players]; Bass clarinet [1 player]; Bassoon [2 players]; Contrabassoon [1 player]; Timpani [1 player]; Horn [4 players]; Trumpet [3 players]
I used to regularly get migraine headaches when I was younger, mainly caused by low blood-sugar
levels (which I thankfully identified and learned to control a little, as the years have passed). This short piece for orchrstra is built around short, pulsating fragments that overlap and confuse each other,
purposefully distracting from the occasional sonorous harmonies that attempt to struggle through
to the end. The title comes from a phrase spoken to me by a fellow sufferer, towards the end of a
long shift, whilst we were both working in a bar in Aberdeen during my student days, and seemed to
perfectly encapsulate how physically drained I often felt, after spending hours at work with a headache.
Instrumentation Genre Ensemble (with conductor)
Tag orchestra
Duration 5 minutes
Instrumentation Piccolo [1 player]; Flute [2 players]; Oboe [2 players]; Clarinet [2 players]; Bass clarinet [1 player]; Bassoon [2 players]; Contrabassoon [1 player]; Timpani [1 player]; Horn [4 players]; Trumpet [3 players]
Performances of this work
Date | Venue | Performer | Link |
10/08/2004 (*premiére) | Konzerthaus, Berlin, Germany, DE |
Upcoming events
Recent updates
Works
- The Monkey and the Camel, by Claire McCue
- Colours of the City, by Oliver Searle
- Water and Slate, by Drew Hammond
Events
- Composers' Day 2025: Performative Music Workshop
- Nordic Music Journeys 2025: Sweden & Scotland - Scottish Ensemble
- Nordic Music Journeys 2025: Sweden & Scotland - Sound Art
Projects
- On a Wing and a Prayer
- On a Wing and a Prayer - presentation
- Composers' Conversations - Pete and Joe Stollery
Opportunities
- Composers' Day 2025: Performative Music Workshop
- Join the Red Note Ensemble Board
- Composer Directory 2025