Releasing the Sculpture (2013)
for symphony orchestra
2 fl, picc; 2 ob, ca; 2 cl, b cl; 2 bsn, cbsn
4 hn; 2 tpt; 2 tbn, tba
timp; perc; hp
strings
Duration: c. 3.5 minutes
Releasing the Sculpture was first performed at BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff Bay on 1 April 2015 by BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Jac van Steen
Programme note:
Releasing the Sculpture is inspired by lines from a sonnet by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. His concept of ‘releasing a sculpture’ that lay concealed within a solid block of marble is described in lines from Sonnet 151:
Non ha l’ottimo artista alcun concetto
che un marmo solo in sé non circonscriva
col suo sovercho; e solo a quello arriva
la man che obbedisce all’ intelletto.
Not even the best of artists has any conception
that a single marble block does not contain
within its excess, and that is only attained
by the hand that obeys the intellect.
Video
Score
Audio
Orchestral parts
Orchestral parts available at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
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Performances
| 23.11.25 | WORTHING | Assembly Hall | Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra, Dominic Greer |
| 01.04.15 | CARDIFF | BBC Hoddinott Hall | BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jac van Steen |
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Charlie Barber 