Instrumentation
3(all=picc).3.3(III=bcl)2.cbsn – 4331 – perc(3): glsp/crot/t.bells/timp/metal tin (paint tin or similar)/2 vibraslaps/guiro/2 congas/chinese opera gong/tam-t/kick drum/BD – glass harmonica – pno – strings (16.14.12.10.8)
Availability
Score and parts for hire
Reviews
‘Music of the far expanses of the universe, haunted by the otherworldly sound of the glass harmonica. If Stanley Kubrick came back to remake 2001 and needed a soundtrack, Hillborg would be his man.’
The Financial Times (Richard Fairman), 17 January 2019
‘If I didn’t fall head over heels for everything on offer, I did have a soft spot for the magical Sound Atlas… The Swedish composer has an ear for alluring soundscapes. Here, we sank into a disorientating vortex before rising again. The glass harmonica created an otherworldly halo to the orchestral palette; bright, soft-edged and unexpected as the sun’s corona.’
The Times (Rebecca Franks), 18 January 2019
‘The eerie whine of the glass harmonica permeated Hillborg’s Sound Atlas, its chill tones suggesting scenes as much visual as musical: a snowy landscape, a leaden sky over an equally leaden sea, an abandoned church still resounding with ancient music.’
The Evening Standard (Nick Kimberley), 17 January 2019
‘An expansive, five-part movement, predominantly slow and coloured by a glass harmonica, its string textures suggesting Vaughan Williams’s Tallis Fantasia with a helping of microtones.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 17 January 2019