Benedict Todd

Yeşİl gece müzİğİ
Green night music

• Composed: March - April 2015
• Duration: 6 ½ - 7 min
• Instrumentation: Piano and Percussion (see notes below)


• Commissioned by: Hezarfen Ensemble in partnership with Bilkent University for the ‘From Word to Sound: Literature as Muse in 21st century composition’ project (sponsored by the British Council).


• First performance: 19 May 2015 by the Hezarfen Ensemble as part of the ‘Bilkent New Music Days’ festival at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey.



• Notes: Based on the poems ‘The Green Poem’ by Can Yücel and ‘Beyond Time’ by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar


• Programme note: This piece was written as part of the British Council sponsored ‘From Word to Sound’ project. It is inspired by two pieces of Turkish poetry. The striking, vibrant imagery of Can Yücel’s Green Poem (Yeşil şiir) strongly suggested a very particular musical soundworld; influencing both my choice of instrumentation and my exploration of primarily colour and texture focussed compositional language in this piece. The more abstract aesthetic of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s Beyond Time, meanwhile, primarily influenced the fine, phrase-level detailing and shaping of the musical material. The enticing narrative arc of the Green Poem also greatly informed the large-scale structural shape of my piece which could, almost, be considered a direct setting of the text, even though neither of the performers ever speaks or sings a word.



• Recording:
• This recording was made during the première performance, given by the Hezarfen Ensemble on the 19 May 2015 as part of the ‘Bilkent New Music Days’ festival at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. The pianist was Müge Hendekli and the percussionist was Amy Salsgiver. You can read more about the concert here.

  This recording is copyright © Benedict Todd 2015. All rights are reserved.

• Scores of this piece are available to purchase. Please click here to purchase scores and/or performance materials.