''Woven Space'' is an orchestral composition written in 2017 by the Scottish composer Helen Grime. The work was commissioned by the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

for Sir

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

and the London Symphony Orchestra, which first performed the piece conducted by Rattle on 19 April 2019. The piece was the recipient of the Large Scale New Work award at the 2019 Scottish Awards for New Music.

Composition

''Woven Space'' lasts about 22 minutes and is composed in three movements: #Fanfares #Woven Space #Course The work's title comes from the name of a sculpture of woven willow twigs by the artist Laura Ellen Bacon, which served as a visual influence for the second and third movements. The first movement "Fanfares" was written as an optional standalone piece, which was given its world premiere ahead of the larger work in September 2017.

Instrumentation

The piece is scored for a large orchestra comprising four flutes (2nd doubling

alto flute The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, the second-highest member below the standard C flute after the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the ...

; 3rd and 4th doubling

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

), two oboes,

Cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

, three

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s (2nd doubling

E-flat clarinet The E-flat (E) clarinet is a member of the clarinet family, smaller than the more common B clarinet and pitched a perfect fourth higher. It is typically considered the sopranino or piccolo member of the clarinet family and is a transposing inst ...

; 3rd doubling

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

), two

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

, four horns, three trumpets, two trombones,

bass trombone The bass trombone (german: Bassposaune, it, trombone basso) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to ...

, tuba, timpani, four percussionists,

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

, and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

Reception

''Woven Space'' has been generally praised by music critics. Peter Quantrill of '' The Arts Desk'' wrote, "Helen Grime has composed astutely for her commissioned forces. This is Rattle's kind of new music, driven forward by, if not excessively reliant upon striding pedal points and skittering ostinato figures. The piece grows appreciably outwards from a slow, rocking branch of an idea planted at the opening of the central movement. Grime has never been one for protracted closures, and the thrust of Woven Space is abruptly cut off at its knees, though one suspects that the harmony has run its course to that very point with the kind of structural ingenuity and economy that would have raised a dry nod of approval from Haydn." Richard Morrison of '' The Times'' similarly observed, "The three movements are disparate in tempo and mood, but all convey tumultuous tussle – between contrasting instrumental textures and between themes. Grime increasingly has the confidence and technique to build these into longer movements that ebb and flow, and ebb again." Barry Millington of the '' Evening Standard'' also lauded the piece, saying, "the opening, incident-packed movement, Fanfares deploys Grime's usual striking palette of sonorities, while its closing bars set off a coruscating ripple that hangs in the air. The interweaving strands and often brittle sonorities of the second movement recreate the lattice forms of Bacon's work, while the downward trajectories of the third aptly reflect her willows." Tim Ashley of '' The Guardian'' gave the piece a slightly more mixed review, however, elaborating:

References

{{Helen Grime Compositions by Helen Grime 2017 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the Barbican Centre