Music-Stave Publishing
Whistler Suite Live Recital June 2026
Whistler Suite — Flute Recital by Roland Bryce
Saturday 20 June 2026
Start: 7.15pm
Optional:
Doors open 6.45pm.
Location: Cliffe Hall LEWES
East Sussex
BN7 2AH
Whistler Suite 2008-2011
Composed 2008-2010 Whistler Suite is a set of movements for mixed ensemble: flutes/oboe/‘cello/piano/strings and a custom sawn and sampled ‘virtual marimba’ made from bars of Pine, Maple and Cedar.
The ideation of a ‘Canadian Marimba’ emerged as the result of a vacation I spent in British Columbia where magnificent trees abound in their exorbitant numbers and sheer overwhelming beauty. I wanted to hear what xylo/marimba bars made from Canadian wood might sound like. (As opposed to African hardwoods) I purchased lengths of timber (plus a very expensive chop saw). My house, lounge through to kitchen became an indoor workshop for days on end. Cutting and tuning each bar was simple enough. Sampling them involved patient mallet selection and placing each sample into the EXS 24 in Logic Pro9.
Sure enough, each wood type has a characteristic sound and resonance, depending on how you strike the bar and the mallet used.
I was tempted to build an actual marimba but figured it would get in the way of the creative musical process. I learned a lot about marimbas generally and arranged the parts as best I could.The piece is fully scored, but there remains the problem of finding 4 marimbas. It may be an idea to scale down the orchestration to one or two players!
The movements are intended to be performed with interludes of sounds (timbres) triggered* by varying impedances of actual trees in an open air forest venue.
DANCE of the TREES
Dance of the trees began as an experiment in surround sound mixing using Logic Pro 7. (2008)
The ideation was to create a sound image of losing your way in the forest. We hear the sound of Woodpeckers, and various birds chatting territorially.
Walking among trees is such a glorious feeling. What if each tree participated in a subtle dance with music provided by each branch, each trunk, each sway? My 'art project' continued: Violins, Violas, Cellos and Basses: all made from wood. Piano sound boards, flutes, oboes, bassoons, marimbas, guitars. Trees are so integral to all musical instruments. (Except the brass families: the instruments of war and destruction.)
Eagles' Nest
Eagle’s nest is the soundtrack of the flight and pursuit of rising thermals that a pair of bald eagles uses to ascend. The marimba ostinato patterns push forwards and modulate intuitively upwards. Little time is spent in respite, both eagles circling and finally finding their nest.
2 Flutes follow each other, hocketing melodic lines throughout. Strings pad out the homophonic textures.
Finally the melody and harmony unite in a gentle descent to the home key.
River of Golden Dreams
A movement from “Whistler Suite 2010”. The piece is programmatic in that it projects sonic images inspired by the “Sea to Sky” journey from Vancouver to Whistler. The River of Golden Dreams is an actual river and stunning images greet you as you travel along the valleys past the city of Squamish towards Whistler. The ‘Canadian Marimba’ bars were cut, sampled and recorded from pine, maple and cedar. Fundamentals are tuned to A = 440 but not the harmonics. The resultant timbres are unique and
produce an earthy sound. A genuine 'Canadian timbre', plus piano, bass, & strings.
AEOLIAN PRAYER
Disasters strike in the mountains. In the forests, whether it is avalanche or wild fire, etc. We pray for loved ones who are in danger or missing. The anguish of the solo melodic line is plain for all to hear and the string parts respond in as if in congregational 'anthems', responses of reverence. The prayers are heard on the wind, at least in the valleys.
First LOVE Theme
‘First Love’ (1995) is a melody based on a North American First Nation legend. In choosing a bride the young man carves a flute from a willow branch and plays as sweet a melody as he can summon late in the evening outside his love’s teepee.
Aeolian mode and native drums are central to the unity of the piece.
Flute / Strings / Harp / Drum
"Fall"
Fall is a soaring melody for solo 'cello and marimba. The autumn leaves fall so quickly that if you listen to the stillness, you can hear them literally woosh on the forest floor, or even produce a series of the most gentle rhythmic patterns in a surround sound manner. "Fall" is a programmatic musical representation of this magical time in the forest.