Marc Yeats - siren song (2006)

siren song (2006) by Marc Yeats

Marc Yeats is a composer and visual artist. His uncompromising music has been performed, commissioned and broadcast around the world. He has worked with many distinguished performers, ensembles and musicians including Psappha, the London Sinfonietta, the Endymion Ensemble, Paragon Ensemble, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic and Gewandhaus Radio Orchestra, among others.

Siren Song
Natalie Raybould, voices: Carla Rees, alto flutes

Dedicated to Natalie Raybould and Carla Rees

For three sopranos, three alto flutes, guitar, percussion and digital sound environment.

'Siren Song' enabled me to indulge my fascination for the siren, the mystical sea spirit, half human female, half sea creature that lures unsuspecting fisherman to their deaths by her seductive song. In this piece, I concentrate on the gentle, mystical aspect of the siren to paint a picture of her watery, ethereal nature, employing sounds that suggested seal cries and whale song as well as other nautical sounds all being part of her alluring aquatic nature. The music is evocative, gentle and hypnotic to the point where the three female voices and three alto flutes act as the one being, calling, enchanting and seducing. 'Siren Song' is assimilated from 'ASCII Dialogues', a piece for soprano and alto flute originally premiered by the artists on this recording.