Materia Medica 2012

chamber orchestra

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Written for the Constella Orchestra and first performed at St. Margret's Church, SE London on the 14th April 2012 by the orchestra, conducted by the composer.

Awarded ESO & PRS Composition Prize 2014

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Duration

10'

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Scoring 

2,2,2,2 | 2,2,0,0 | timp. | strings

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Programme Note

Materia Medica is the Latin term used to describe substances with therapeutic properties.  In Homeopathy Materia Medica is an encyclopaedia of remedies. It specifies in detail the symptoms, conditions and personalities of each remedy, which when matched with the individual, promote healing. This piece uses twelve widely used homeopathic remedies and translates their properties into musical characters, with each character assigned to an instrument of the orchestra. The musical material used to define these remedies fuses with the central motif, just as the remedies themselves are used to combine with the body’s immune system.

 

Below lists which instruments are paired with which remedy in order of hearing.

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Oboe - Belladonna

Viola - Arsenicum

Violin I - Pulsatilla

Clarinet - Phosphorus

Timpani - Hepar Sulph

Horn - Arnica  

Cello - Aconite

Bassoon - Nux Vomica

Violin II - Sulphur

Trumpet - Silica

Flute - Hypericum

Double Bass - Gelsenium

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Availability 

This music is available to hire. Please get in touch. The score may be purchased for £15.00 excluding postage.

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Perusal Score

Please note that this music is in copyright and it is illegal to copy or perform from the perusal score.