Piranesi

Piranesi by Thomas Green

This piece is inspired by the amazing fiction novel of the same name by Susanna Clarke. We won’t give out any spoilers, but you should definitely read it.  Thomas wrote this piece at the very time he was reading the novel, hence the music has taken on the title as an homage to Clarke’s work. This music is a study in creating an entire piece from some simple ideas.  The melody, in particular, is very simple, however forms a cross rhythm over the prevailing pulse.

The piece is an energetic and exciting piece for 1-8 performers with use of the backing tracks.

For student performers, the vibraphone and marimba parts can be split for separate players (i.e., one player on treble, one on bass)

Instrumentation:

Difficulty: Advanced

Stem Player Piranesi:

In Studio Video:

About the composer Thomas Green:

Thomas Green is a prize-winning composer who has a reputation in Brisbane (Australia) for versatility, finding a musical home between many and varied streams, often seamlessly melding classical and contemporary idioms. In 2021 he was commissioned for the renowned ANAM Set and most recently has been selected by the ABC’s Fresh Start Fund to compose original music for national broadcast. He has composed and arranged music for The Sydney Symphony (with Josh Pyke), The Australian String Quartet, Katie Noonan, Opera Qld, La Boite Theatre, Plexus (Melbourne), and Brisbane-based organisations such as Trichotomy. In 2017 he was commissioned by The Queensland Music Festival to write a concerto for Manu Delago and QYO, and in 2019 his music was featured on Katie Noonan’s AIR and ARIA-nominated album, The Glad Tomorrow. In 2021 & 2022 he is collaborating with Katie Noonan again, writing music for AVÉ. He lectures in music theory at the Queensland Conservatorium.

Composer interview:

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body