Abstract
Re-New is significant as the first ensemble work explicitly designated a “murmuration” – establishing this as a distinct compositional form rather than merely a technique applied within existing forms. A prior work, O orzchis Ecclesia was one of a number of preparatory excercises, again using panintervallic organisation. The work investigates whether the underlying harmonic framework of the murmuration process can define an entire formal structure, rather than serving as a textural device within conventional formal frameworks. Deliberate and methodical use of processes from a key late 16th-century pedagogical work by William Bathe, A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Song (c.1596), and the figures in Bathe’s Table. The repeating basso continuo was built on a panintervallic set. Composed for the Excelsia Choir and Excelsia Chamber Orchestra, it also explores how the technique can be made accessible to student and community ensembles, testing the pedagogical dimension of the research.