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
- 12 Jan 2026, 12:30
[Covfefe: online monthly coffee chat for composers & musicians] - 23 Jan 2026, 18:00
[The Night With... Haptic and Stef Conner] - 25 Jan 2026, 19:30
[The Night With... Haptic and Stef Conner] - 26 Jan 2026, 12:30
[Covfefe: online monthly coffee chat for composers & musicians] - 31 Jan 2026, 19:30
[The Night With... Haptic and Stef Conner]
Recent updates
Works
- Quartet no 6 (Ma), by Matthew Whiteside
- Perihelion, by Neil Tòmas Smith
- Above the Stars, by Aileen Sweeney
Events
- The Night With... Haptic and Stef Conner
- The Night With... United Strings of Europe
- The Night With... Ensemble Offspring
Projects
- Aides... mémoires... Project album launch
- On a Wing and a Prayer
- On a Wing and a Prayer - presentation
Opportunities
- Noisy Nights in Glasgow – Call for Scores
- Red Note is looking for a new Chair of the Board
- In Motion 2026 - Sound and Music
