Clouds

With all the stormy weather we've been having recently I've been looking up at the sky quite a bit to see whether we're likely to have another downpour or I can leave the house without the umbrella. Not sure whether I've seen any Noctilucent clouds though. These are clouds that form in the highest regions of the earth's atmosphere which appear as sun-illumined silvery waves on the threshold of space. Apparently they are extremely rare and are still a mysery to science.

The reason I write about this is the new work Christian Mason has composed for the first of this seasons Britten Sinfonia At Lunch concerts is titled Noctilucent. Like the clouds Christian has said "the piece inhabits the upper regions of available pitch-space, with shimmering string harmonics, piccolo arabesques and bright piano octaves illuming the line which flows through the piece." Below is a picture that Christian asked to be in the programme but unfortunately we are unable to include it so thought I'd post it here.

I'm certainly looking forward to hearing the piece at its UK premiere in Cambridge on Tuesday 15 December. The piece will receive its world premiere a couple of days before in Krakow (13 Dec) and after Cambridge will be performed at London's Wigmore Hall (16 Dec), the Town Hall in Birmingham (17 Dec) and the Assembly House in Norwich (18 Dec). Click here to find out more about the programme and ways to purchase tickets.

Claire (Marketing Director)