Dave Danford – Celtic Loops (Full Score)

Celtic Loops was composed specifically for a Welsh composers project organised by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2012 and premiered by the British Sinfonietta the following year.

Programme Notes
Celtic Loops draws on influences from many different genres of music that I have been involved with as a composer and performer in recent years.

First and foremost the Loops element of the title refers to the short looped phrases that are present throughout the work, undoubtedly inspired by the American composer Steve Reich, whose music I regularly perform with fellow percussionist Sarah Mason under the name Crossfire Percussion Duo. This element of the piece has also been inspired by the Scottish percussionist Cameron Sinclair, whose 1984 composition Funk Loops 1 has become a standard item of percussion ensemble repertoire.

The melodies in Celtic Loops are influenced by a number of traditional Welsh folk tunes that I have encountered through performing with the band Taran, a collective of Welsh folk musicians presenting traditional tunes combined with contemporary electronic music beats.

Dave Danford, November 2012

Orchestra instrumentation:
2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo) / 2 Oboes (2nd doubling Cor Anglais)
2 Clarinets / Bassoon / Contrabassoon
4 French Horns / 3 Trumpets / 2 Tenor Trombones / Bass Trombone / Tuba
Timpani
3 Percussionists
Harp
Piano
Strings

Duration: 7 minutes