• Violin Concerto
• Darwin Among The Machines
• Each Other
• Electric Dreams
• The days of thinking of time as a river (evenly flowing, always advancing) - are over.
• I Dream of Gerontius
• The Whirring Underneath (Four Thought Machines for Marimba Solo)
• FLIGHTPLANS
• North Star
• Forgiveness and The Fear of Forever
• Tomorrowland
• Four Vignettes
• The Last Waltz
• A Garden Full of Things
• Run Away (I was safe in anger and lost in fear)
• Endangered Hardware Petting Zoo
• Treasures
• Call Me Lightheart
• Orbiter
• Sober Observer Sees (HD)
• Creature
• A Polemic Overture
• Five Excerpts From Summer
• Dream Sequence
• Heart of Govan
• Ridge A
• On Approach to the Waking World
• Leaving the Lighthouse
• Piano Found on Britain's Highest Mountain
• Water Cycle
• Baby T.V.
• On The Absence of Things
• IDST (If Destroyed Still True)
• Radio Amanda
• Early
• It's In Control
• Guernica In Your Livingroom

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A Polemic Overture

(2012) For 4 Horns in F, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Tubas, 5 Tenors, 4 Violins - 5'

This little overture is my parody and comment on political rhetoric.

In his 1946 essay ‘Politics and The English Language’, George Orwell condemns and explores this frivolous relationship with language. He de-constructs writings, shows how ridiculous their use of the English language is and engages in parody to help this along. He then provides a set of simple rules to avoid these pretentions.

I have set an excerpt from the opening of the essay in badly translated German, courtesy of Google Translate.

Dedicated to Brendan Toal, for friendship, good times and being the greatest parody-agent I know.

Premièred at PLUG 2012. Conducted by Eoin Tonner.