ORCHESTRAL MUSIC by Neil Buckland
Climates of the Mind
(total timing, including longer version of Dreaming, 78’08) – CONTACT
A collection of pieces reflecting different moods and states of mind. Suites can be formed from selected items in the collection, or they can be listened to or played separately. The scoring is for solo bassoon (plus solo cor anglais in two pieces) with orchestra. Climates of the Mind (the entire collection) is now available as an album on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, YouTube and Wangyiyun. Nostalgia, Enthusiasm and Reflecting can be heard in full on the Listen page of this website. Some of the pieces are also available separately on QQ Music, Kuwo and Kugou.
Nonchalance:
Reflecting:
Love:
Euphoria:
Uncertainty:
Grief (Echoes in the Memory):
Melancholy Waltz:
Nostalgia:
Gratitude:
Happiness:
Regret:
Dreaming:
Enthusiasm:
Fear:
Courage:
Serenity:
Joie de vivre:
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra
(clarinet in A, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, marimba, harp, strings) (36’) – CONTACT
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
A concerto in three movements in a lyrical, tonal style, with a varied and expressive first movement, contemplative slow movement and a lively finale influenced by Greek and other world music. (The slow movement can also be performed as a separate piece, under the title Then I Became. The score is available separately – see below.)(For more detailed information on the concerto see Clarinet Concerto program notes.)
The complete Clarinet Concerto is available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. The finale (Vivace) can be heard in full on the Listen page of this website, and is available separately on YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Concerto for Cor Anglais, Bassoon and Orchestra – see ‘Kin’
Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano and Chamber Orchestra
(harpsichord or piano solo, flute, oboe, clarinet in Bb, bassoon, horn, trumpet, timpani, marimba, strings) (48’) – CONTACT
(played on harpsichord):
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
(played on piano):
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
A concerto in three movements in a lyrical, tonal style with baroque and world music influences. The first movement is varied in mood and rhythmically adventurous, the slow movement elegiac, and the finale alternates lively and contemplative passages before combining them in an exultant conclusion. (The slow movement can also be performed as a separate piece, under the title Lamentings Heard in the Air. The score is available separately – see below.)(For more detailed information on the concerto see Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano program notes.)
The complete Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano played on harpsichord, plus substantial excerpts played on piano, is available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT ) Excerpts (including the same section played on harpsichord vs. piano) can be heard on the Listen page of this website, and on YouTube.
Courage
for cor anglais, bassoon and orchestra (9’09) – CONTACT
From the collection Climates of the Mind.
Courage is available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Deezer and YouTube.
Dreaming
for cor anglais or bassoon and small orchestra (1 or 2 fls, obs, cls, hns + strings)(2 versions: 4’30 or 7’50) – CONTACT
In a dream, memories, myths and wild imagination weave together like threads in a tapestry. This music, like a dream, weaves different strands together on different levels of consciousness – and, like a dream, declines to say exactly what it means.
Dreaming is based on my earlier work Lucid Dreaming but with the addition of an entirely new part for solo cor anglais or bassoon* and many other changes it’s effectively a new composition. There are shorter and longer versions of Dreaming, lasting 4’30 and 7’50 respectively. (*The solo part could potentially also be played on soprano or alto saxophone.)
Echoes in the Memory
for bassoon (or cello) and (chamber) orchestra (bassoon (cello) solo, 1 or 2 flutes, 1 or 2 oboes, 1 or 2 clarinets, 2 or 4 horns, strings) (7’30) – CONTACT
A lament for lost beauty, vanished dreams, forgotten ideals, and a civilisation that has lost sight of the values it was founded on. (Echoes in the Memory is also the slow movement of my Bassoon Concerto.)
Echoes in the Memory is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Echoes in the Memory for Piano and Orchestra
(piano solo, 2 (or 1) flutes, 2 (or 1) oboes, 2 (or 1) clarinets, 4 (or 2) horns, strings) (7’36) – CONTACT
A lament for lost beauty, vanished dreams, forgotten ideals, and a civilisation that has lost sight of the values it was founded on. This version of Echoes for the Memory is substantially different to the earlier version with bassoon or cello solo.
Enthusiasm
for solo bassoon and orchestra (4’45) – CONTACT
To be enthusiastic is to be full of energy and eagerness, exuberance, enjoyment, excitement – but this piece also reflects another quality, one much discussed now by psychologists and educators: resilience.
Enthusiasm is part of a gradually expanding collection of pieces for bassoon and orchestra called Climates of the Mind. Enthusiasm is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and Wangyiyun, and can be heard in full on the Listen page of this website.
Euphoria
for solo bassoon and orchestra (4’11) – CONTACT
Euphoria is part of the collection Climates of the Mind.
Fuzzy Logic, Lucid Dreaming
for didgeridoo and chamber orchestra (didgeridoo in D, flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, clarinet in Bb (doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, strings) (approx. 23′) – CONTACT
1st movement:
3rd movement:
Whether music is dreamed up beforehand and written down to play later or improvised on the spur of the moment, it is the fuzzy logic of the subconscious mind that creates the aural patterns we hear, and a process closely akin to lucid dreaming that brings them to conscious awareness. This piece is a musical dialogue in which vastly different approaches to the creation of music come together and then find their way through tensions and differences to harmony (if not to complete agreement).
The first movement, Fuzzy Logic, moves through dramatic, humorous and joyful moods to a celebratory conclusion, the second is a freely improvised didgeridoo solo, and the third, Lucid Dreaming, concludes the work in a serene and thoughtful state of mind. (Lucid Dreaming can also be performed as a separate piece. The score is available separately – see below.)(For more detailed information on Fuzzy Logic, Lucid Dreaming and a discussion of those two terms and their relevance to music, see Fuzzy Logic, Lucid Dreaming preface.)
Fuzzy Logic, Lucid Dreaming is available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT ). Lucid Dreaming is also available separately on all of these and on YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music and Kuwo.
Gaia
for orchestra (13’30) – CONTACT
In Greek mythology Gaia is the personification of the earth, the great mother of all. Gaia is also, of course, the name for the earth in James Lovelock’s theory that our planet functions like a living organism. This music is like a “living planet” itself, an aural Gaia – like a living organism, it grows, extends, elaborates, branches out, and evolves eventually into different forms. There are many echoes and reflections here, as in nature. There are layers in this music, like geological strata, or like the layers in fertile soil. There is symmetry, but, as in nature, it’s never precise or mechanical.
This is one of three orchestral pieces in a similar style that reflect experiences in nature; the others are Parables of Sunlight and Sylvan. Gaia is available on YouTube (1st section, with video), Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Wangyiyun.
Gratitude
for solo bassoon and orchestra (5’30) – CONTACT
We should cultivate gratitude, researchers tell us, because it’s good for our mental and physical health. But when we feel truly grateful we are not thinking about the benefits for ourselves! Our focus is on the person or thing we are grateful to: other people, the world, God or Nature. Gratitude is a feeling directed outside of our limited selves – this is why all the major religions and so many philosophers have advocated it.
This music is a small gesture of thanks for what I have learnt about the human spirit from survivors of trauma or great loss, for the understanding I have gained from those who (intentionally or otherwise) have shown me my own limitations, and, last but not least, for the beauty of the natural world.
Gratitude is part of the collection Climates of the Mind, and is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Wangyiyun.
Grief (Echoes in the Memory)
for bassoon (or cello) and (chamber) orchestra (bassoon (cello) solo, 1 or 2 flutes, 1 or 2 oboes, 1 or 2 clarinets, 2 or 4 horns, strings) (4’40) – CONTACT
‘Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is the price you pay for love’ – Earl Grollman. ‘The only cure for grief,’ Grollman continues, ‘is to grieve.’ How to grieve? According to Shakespeare, there are two ways: ‘Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o’er wrought heart and bids it break.’ Or give sorrow music: ‘In sweet music is such art, Killing care and grief of heart Fall asleep, or hearing, dies.’ Grief (Echoes in the Memory) is a shortened version of Echoes in the Memory created as part of the collection Climates of the Mind (see below).
The Heart Falls as Light
for oboe and string orchestra (7’54) – CONTACT
From a projected set of pieces inspired by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. The title is derived from lines in ‘The Handsome Heart’:
Heart to its own fine function, | wild and self-instressed,
Falls as light…
The Heart Falls as Light is available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Deezer and elsewhere.
Immortal Diamond
for oboe and string orchestra (5’32) – CONTACT
Another piece inspired by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, in this case the stunning final words of ‘That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire…’
Immortal Diamond is available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Deezer and elsewhere.
Joie de vivre
for solo bassoon and orchestra (4’44) – CONTACT
‘Joy is everywhere; it is in the earth’s green covering of grass: in the blue serenity of the sky: in the reckless exuberance of spring: in the severe abstinence of grey winter: in the living flesh that animates our bodily frame: in the perfect poise of the human figure, noble and upright: in living, in the exercise of all our powers: in the acquisition of knowledge. . . Joy is there everywhere.’ – Rabindranath Tagore
Joie de vivre is part of the collection Climates of the Mind, and is available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Wangyiyun.
Kin: Concerto for Cor Anglais, Bassoon and Orchestra
(cor anglais & bassoon solos, 2 fls, 2 obs, 2 cls (2. doubling bass cl), 4 hns, 3 trpts, timpani, harp, strings) (21’) – CONTACT
More information and more of the music in this blog.
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
4th movement:
Lamentings Heard in the Air
for harpsichord or piano and chamber orchestra (harpsichord or piano solo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, timpani, strings) (16’30) – CONTACT
(played on harpsichord):
(played on piano):
The elegiac slow movement of my Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano. (Played on piano this is more expressive, on harpsichord it has more emotional restraint, but the overall mood is not affected by the choice of instrument.)
Lamentings in the Air is available (as part of the Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano) on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Life’s Golden Tree
for orchestra (2 fls, 2 obs, 2 cls, 2 bns, 4 hns, 3 trpts, 3 trombs, tuba, timpani, harp, strings) (13’50) – CONTACT
‘My dear friend, all theory is grey – life’s golden tree alone is green.’ – Goethe
This music is a reflection of and on life in all its forms, and on the profusion of life, with all its interconnections and interdepences, and its constant changes. In Life’s Golden Tree the main ideas or themes all go through organic processes of change and growth as the music passes through stages that mirror the stages of a human life. (More on this in the blog ‘Life’s Golden Tree and Active Imagination’.)
Life’s Golden Tree is available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo.
Lucid Dreaming
for chamber orchestra (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, solo violin, strings, optional didgeridoo in D) (7’45) – CONTACT
Lucid dreaming means being aware that we are dreaming while we are dreaming. The word “lucid” comes from the Latin word for “light”. Both these associations, with dreaming and with light, are reflected in this music. (Note: when Lucid Dreaming is performed as a separate item, the didgeridoo is optional.)
Lucid Dreaming is available on YouTube (with video), Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Melancholy Waltz
for solo bassoon and orchestra (3’09) – CONTACT
Melancholy Waltz represents melancholy in the collection Climates of the Mind, and is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music and Wangyiyun. (This orchestral version of Melancholy Waltz is an arrangement of the original piano piece – see the Solo Instrumental Music page).
Miserere
for string orchestra (9’30) – CONTACT
Instrumental version of my choral setting of the Miserere.
Nonchalance
for solo bassoon and orchestra (4’39) – CONTACT
Nonchalance means behaving as if you are calm and carefree despite an underlying sense of unease or worry. In this music the solo bassoon moves nonchalantly through a variety of different sonic environments trying to ignore the fact that they are not quite as safe or predictable as they seem. Nonchalance is part of the collection Climates of the Mind, and is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and QQ Music.
Nostalgia
for solo bassoon and orchestra (4’20) – CONTACT
Nostalgia can be gentle, almost comforting, or it can be a deeper “perturbation of the soul”, a yearning for something that was never really in your possession, homesickness for a place you have never lived in. Nostalgia is part of the collection Climates of the Mind. It can be heard in full on the Listen page of this website, and is also available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Wangyiyun.
Parables of Sunlight
for two oboes and string orchestra (9’15) – CONTACT
A tone poem inspired by the sight of the patterns made by cloud shadows and bright sunlight drifting across rolling green fields. The music is not intended to describe this scene directly but to suggest the sense of deeper meaning it evoked. This is one of three orchestral pieces in a similar style that reflect experiences in nature; the others are Sylvan and Gaia. (Parables of Sunlight may also be performed as a sextet with string quartet – see CHAMBER MUSIC.)
Parables of Sunlight can be heard in full on the Listen page of this website and is also available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Reflecting
for solo bassoon and orchestra (5’58) – CONTACT
To reflect is to think deeply or carefully, to turn thoughts over and look at them from different angles, examine problems, consider solutions. In a reflective frame of mind, ideas arise and are looked at more calmly and rationally, the imagination has freer rein, there is space for insights and inspirations to arise and new directions to be foreshadowed. Reflecting is the first movement of the collection Climates of the Mind. The first 2’30 of Reflecting can be heard on the Listen page of this website. The full piece is available on YouTube, Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music, Kuwo and Wangyiyun.
Rondo del Mondo
for bassoon and orchestra (bassoon solo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in Bb (2nd doubling bass clarinet), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, timpani, percussion, marimba, harp, strings) (9’50) – CONTACT
Rondo del Mondo begins with a vigorous and high-spirited quasi-folk dance, then ventures into more mysterious realms, leading to a yearning theme that sounds like it might have been a French waltz in a former life (but is actually a transformation of the first theme), then to a not entirely serious cadenza, before returning to the high spirits of the opening. (Rondo del Mondo is also the finale of my Bassoon Concerto.)
Rondo del Mondo is available (as part of the bassoon concerto) on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Serenity
for cor anglais, bassoon and orchestra (3’27) – CONTACT
Serenity is part of the collection Climates of the Mind and is available on YouTube, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer and Wangyiyun.
Sylvan
for orchestra (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trombones, timpani, large tam-tam, strings) (17’15) – CONTACT
“Sylvan” means “a deity or spirit of the woods” or “pertaining or relating to a wood or woods” (OED). This piece arose from reflections in the rich, temperate rainforest of northern New South Wales, Australia, and the sense of a numinous presence that can sometimes be experienced there. This is one of three orchestral pieces in a similar style that reflect experiences in nature; the others are Parables of Sunlight and Gaia.
A substantial excerpt from Sylvan for orchestra can be heard on the Listen page of this website.
Then I Became
for clarinet and string orchestra (9’50) – CONTACT
An instrumental transformation of my vocal setting of an ecstatic Sufi text (see SOLO VOCAL MUSIC). (Then I Became for clarinet and strings is also the slow movement of my Clarinet Concerto.)
Then I Became for clarinet and strings is available (as part of the clarinet concerto) on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
(also see CHORAL MUSIC and SOLO VOCAL MUSIC with orchestra)
Orchestral works in progress
The following works have had substantial sections written but are not yet completed. If you are interested in performing or commissioning the completion of any of these works, please CONTACT me.
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra
(approx. 27’) – CONTACT
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
A concerto in three movements in a lyrical, tonal style with early and world music influences. The first movement is not yet finished, but the remainder has been completed; the second movement is Echoes in the Memory and the finale is Rondo del Mondo (see above). (For more detailed information on the concerto, see Bassoon Concerto program notes.)
The completed movements of the bassoon concerto, plus the opening section of the unfinished first movement, are available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT )
Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp or Piano
(36′) Rescoring of the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (see above for sound clips of the version for full orchestra) – CONTACT
Concerto for Didgeridoo and Orchestra
(approx. 37’) – CONTACT
1st movement:
2nd movement:
4th movement:
A musical dialogue between two very different cultures. The idealism, intellectualism and sometimes grandiosity of Western culture is brought back to earth and grounded by the deep natural sound of that most earthy of instruments, the didgeridoo. Lucid Dreaming (see above) is the second movement of the Concerto. The final section of the first movement and Lucid Dreaming are both available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music, Spotify, Deezer, QQ Music and Kuwo and on CD (to order CDs: CONTACT ), and Lucid Dreaming is also available separately on YouTube (with video).
Piano Concerto
(48′) Rescoring for piano and symphony orchestra of the Concerto for Harpsichord or Piano and Chamber Orchestra. – CONTACT
1st movement:
2nd movement:
3rd movement:
(the sound clips are of the version with chamber orchestra)
Substantial excerpts of the version for piano and chamber orchestra, together with the complete concerto played on harpsichord, are available on Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play Music and on CD. (To order CDs: CONTACT ). A lengthy excerpt from the piano and chamber orchestra version can also be heard on the Listen page of this website and on YouTube.
Procession
for orchestra (approx. 5′) – CONTACT
A solemn processional piece that starts quietly and builds to a powerful conclusion