Alicia Ambrose

Shattered
for solo harp

duration: 7.5 minutes

Shattered is an exploration of conflict; the differences between something which is whole and something in pieces, whether an army, a person’s sanity, or even just a piece of glass. The piece flits schizophrenically from mood to mood - there are sections of violence and furious aggression, and others, which appear calmer on the surface, but hold the tension coiled underneath, awaiting the explosion. There is a battle taking place, but there are smaller battles within - e.g. the argument of two against three, fights for dominance between key notes and finally, a false ending before the true finish, where the music really does die away.

Copyright A. Ambrose June 2001


Alicia Ambrose was born in London in 1978. She began composing seriously at fifteen and Studied composition at Trinity College of Music with Daryl Runswick and Andrew Lovett. She has had works performed at the South Bank Centre, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Cochrane Theatre in Holborn.

In 1997 she began to branch out and examine different area of the Arts that connect to music, such as dance, fashion and theatre, and she became involved with electronics and music technology. More recently, she has spent time working with children, both writing music for them, and helping them to explore their own creative talents.

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