Earworms
Work Overview
Instrumentation: full orchestra
Commission: Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Alexander Shelley, Music Director
Premiere: March 22-24, 2018, Ottawa and Toronto, Canada
Duration: 12 minutes
Program Note
Earworms is a feisty and whimsical orchestral piece that provides a commentary on the world we live in today – it musically depicts our diverted attention spans, our constant barrage of music and other media, and our multitasking lives.
Since having my son almost three years ago, I have found my life to be more complicated and chaotic, but also all the richer and more meaningful. I find myself at the end of the day humming tunes that have gotten into my head and that I cannot seem to escape no matter how hard I try – hence the title Earworms.
The work features a few snippets of some of the best (or most insistent and annoying, depending on how you want to look at it) of these tunes and combines them into a playful and quirky arrangement. I worked fragments of these songs into the piece the way I would hear them at night – incomplete, sometimes looping just a little lick, sometimes simultaneously or consecutively, and always heavily developed to evoke the feel of my irrational obsession. The piece culminates in a chaotic mashup, with the orchestra building its force and repeating musical gestures with different, often conflicting rhythms. It ends loud and strong, as the earworms take hold of my psyche.
I have composed this work specifically for Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the commissioner of the work. I am a proud Canadian who is delighted to have the honor to compose for such an esteemed and outstanding group of musicians. This piece reflects the strengths of the orchestra, including its virtuosity, vitality, and tremendous spirit.
Fung’s writing is highly organized and technically accomplished, but its immediate appeal is in its hip humour and unapologetic, in-your-face virtuosity…It’s fast, fun, and gives the orchestra plenty of meat to chew (the brass section gleefully went to town). – Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile
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Study score available for purchase; parts available for rental. Please contact Bill Holab Music for a rental quote.
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