for clarinet and seagulls – 10′
Commissioned for the Plymouth University Contemporary Music Festival 2018, Queen Canute is a 3-movement piece which explores the sound of seagulls and the musicality that can be extracted from it. Traditionally, instrumental duets with birds have concentrated on the use of songbirds, whose vocalisations are more obviously musical to our ears.
The first movement introduces a variety of sounds made by seagulls and the clarinet responds to them. The second movement explores the details of one call by sampling fragments of the call. The clarinet seeks to imitate it and blend in, it is not always clear which is which! The third movement explores the quieter seagull sounds which the clarinet imitates and renders musical. Called Lament, this movement is also a commentary on the misunderstandings around seagulls and their negative perception in society.
Queen Canute has been featured on i news and endorsed by the RSPB.
It was premiered at the Plymouth University Contemporary Music Festival 2019 (as the 2018 edition was cancelled due to severe weather). Further performances at SOAK Live Art on 18 May 2023 and Gullfest in May 2024.
This is the score.
