The BBC Proms have announced the premiere of a new orchestral piece by Thomas Adès as part of their series of live concerts at the Royal Albert Hall later this month. Dawn – Chacony for orchestra at any distance will be premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra and Simon Rattle on 30 August. The 7-minute work – the latest in a number of chaconnes which feature across Adès’ output – will be broadcast live on both BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four. Full details of the Prom can be found here.
‘In this piece the sunrise is imagined as a constant event that moves continuously around the world’ writes the composer. ‘This eternal dawn is presented as a "chacony" - in the word that Purcell used some 330 years ago, a mile or two away.’
Due to uncertainty around the number of players permitted at the time of performance, Dawn is designed to work with an orchestra of flexible size, and with the players placed around the hall in any way. The minimum instrumentation is as follows:
2.2.2.2.cbsn – 2.2(or fl.hn).2.1 – timp – perc(3): vib, bell, 4 gongs – cimbalom (ossia upright piano) – harp – pno – strings (db require low C extension)
More details about the work, and the score, can be found here