Re-greening, Tansy Davies’ joyous new work for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, was premiered at Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh in August with further performances in Birmingham, the BBC Proms, and the Berlin Konzerthaus. The energetic 8-minute work can be performed with or without a conductor, however the essence of the commission was the aim of giving all 164 players in the NYO a chance to take ownership of the music. Bursts of sound (here cued by the players) announce new permutations of colour and texture – endless refrains, woven out of intricate, inter-connecting segments, which combine to form what Davies describes as ‘a kind of musical forest’. The work is assembled from found material; two English melodies (Sumer is Icumen In and Tallis’ Canon) are sung by the instrumentalists, and drift through the work as if on a gentle breeze.
‘Woodwinds kept whooshing within tendril textures suggesting time-lapse photography of a burgeoning forest… a gorgeous celebration of youth and rebirth.’
The Times (Geoff Brown), 10 August 2015
‘Gem-like in the beauty of its sound world… Sleek, shimmering micro-polyphony… It’s enchanting.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 7 August 2015
Watch the BBC Proms performance of Davies' Re-greening here