H114 vidriera (2026)

Gifted to the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group on the occasion of their 40th anniversary.

Instrumentation:
Oboe and Cello

Duration: 2’

Programme note:

I wrote vidriera after a request from Stephan Meier, artistic director of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, to write a piece for the groupʼs 40th anniversary in 2027. The brief was to write a 1ʼ to 2ʼ piece for potentially quite a large number of players, but I have chosen only oboe and cello for this piece. The title is Spanish for stained glass window (but also shop window!) and I have taken some of the material from a recent piece for oboe, a glass delusion where the duo partner is a harp. vidriera lasts 2ʼ and was written for oboist Melinda Maxwell with the groupʼs cellist Arthur Boutillier. I will be eternally grateful to BCMG for the amount of support they have given me over the last 40 years from commissioning Lilith to Boots of Lead and all the work they put into Who put Bella in the Wych elm?. Also for helping me to rescue Capriccio Spettrale from its then parlous state. It had to be completely copied out, fully edited with rethought orchestration from scratch. Theyʼve played many other pieces which they didnʼt commission too with great aplomb and insight. Happy Birthday! to all their excellent players and managers both former and current.

S.H.
7 June 2026