Tyto Alba for solo Alto Flute will be premiered by Catherine Handley at Kington Church, Herefordshire on Friday 7th October 7:30, in a concert of new music for piano and winds (concert details here).
I have had a solo flute piece based on the barn owl in mind for some time, and in this miniature for alto flute I have tried to capture something of its mystical character, it’s silent, graceful but agile flight, as well as a more elegiac, mournful character stemming from a combination of its screeching call, its plight to survive, and a lament for a barn owl-loving friend.