Description
Syrinx Before Pan and Narcissus by Paul Burnell.
Composed 2008, with minor revisions to the score in 2023.
Duration 3:40 approx.
For solo instrument amplified with reverberation. For example, an 8 second reverb. effect with no ‘dry’ output. The music may be transposed to suit the instrument’s range.
First performed by Paul Burnell, oboe, at the Louise T. Blouin Institute, London, 29 April 2008.
Programme note
'Syrinx Before Pan and Narcissus' was inspired by Benjamin Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid’. In classical mythology, Syrinx was a nymph known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan, she fled, but when her escape was blocked by a river she asked her sister river nymphs to disguise her. In answer, she was transformed into hollow marsh reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's sighing breath blew across them.