# List of compositions by Harrison Birtwistle

This is a list of compositions by Harrison Birtwistle (1934–2022), a British composer of contemporary classical music. Birtwistle's music was published by Universal Edition until 1994, and since then by Boosey & Hawkes.

## Opera and other dramatised works

* The Mark of the Goat, children's dramatic cantata for actors, singers, 2 choirs, 3 melody instruments, piano (6 hands), large and small percussion ensembles (1965)
* Punch and Judy, A tragical comedy or comical tragedy in 1 act (1966–67)
* Down by the Greenwood Side, A Dramatic Pastoral (1968–69)
* Pulse Field: Frames, Pulse and Interruptions, ballet, for 6 dancers and 9 musicians (1977)
* Bow Down, music theatre, for 5 actors and 4 musicians (1977)
* The Mask of Orpheus, Lyric Tragedy in 3 acts (1973–83)
* Yan Tan Tethera, A Mechanical Pastoral (1983-84)
* Gawain, Opera in 2 acts, (1990–91, revised 1994 & 1999)
* The Second Mrs Kong, Opera in 2 acts (1993–94)
* The Last Supper, Opera in 1 act (1998–1999)
* The Io Passion, Chamber Opera (2003)
* The Minotaur, Opera (2005–07)
* The Corridor, Scena for two voices and ensemble (2008–09)
* The Cure, for two singers and ensemble (2014–15)

## Orchestra

* Chorales, for orchestra (1960–63)
* Nomos, for 4 amplified instruments and orchestra (1967–68)
* The Triumph of Time, for orchestra (1971–72)
* Melencolia I, for clarinet, harp and 2 string orchestras (1976)
* Earth Dances, for orchestra (1985–86)
* Endless Parade, for trumpet, strings and vibraphone (1986–87)
* Machaut à ma manière, for orchestra (1988)
* Gawain's Journey, for orchestra (1991)
* Antiphonies, for piano and orchestra (1992)
* The Cry of Anubis, for tuba and orchestra (1994)
* Panic, for alto saxophone, jazz drummer, wind, brass and percussion (1995)
* Exody, for orchestra (1997)
* Sonance Severance 2000, for orchestra (1999)
* The Shadow of Night, for orchestra (2001)
* Night’s Black Bird, for orchestra (2004)
* Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2009–10)
* Responses, for piano and orchestra (2013-14)
* Deep Time, for orchestra (2016)
* Variation IX in Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B., for orchestra (2019)

## Chamber ensemble without voices

* The World is Discovered, 6 Instrumental Movements after Heinrich Isaac, for chamber ensemble (1961)
* 3 Movements with Fanfares, for chamber orchestra (1964)
* Tragoedia, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, harp and string quartet (1965)
* Chorale from a Toy Shop, open scoring (1967, later versions 2016-17)
* Three lessons in a frame, for piano solo, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion. (1967: withdrawn)
* Medusa, for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion and electronics (1969: withdrawn)
* Verses for Ensembles, for 3 instrumental ensembles (1968–69)
* Some Petals from my Twickenham Herbarium, for piccolo, clarinet in Bb, glockenspiel, piano, violin and violoncello (1969)
* An Imaginary Landscape, for brass, percussion and double basses (1971)
* Tombeau in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet (1971)
* Grimethorpe Aria, for brass band (1973)
* For O, for O, the Hobby-Horse is Forgot, Ceremony, for 6 percussionists (1976)
* Silbury Air, for chamber ensemble (1977)
* Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum, for chamber ensemble or orchestra (1977–1978)
* Mercure: Poses Plastiques (after Erik Satie), arranged for 14 players (1980)
* Still Movement, for 13 solo strings (1984)
* Secret Theatre, for chamber ensemble (1984)
* Fanfare for Will, for brass ensemble (1987: unpublished)
* Salford Toccata, for brass band (1989)
* Ritual Fragment, for chamber orchestra (1990)
* Fanfare for Glyndebourne, for brass ensemble and timpani (1994)
* Bach Measures, for chamber ensemble (1996)
* Slow Frieze, for piano and ensemble (1996)
* Placid Mobile, for 36 trumpets (1998)
* The Silk House Tattoo, for two trumpets and side drums (1998)
* Sonance 2000, for brass ensemble (1999)
* 17 Tate Riffs, for ensemble (2000)
* Fanfare, for brass and percussion (2001)
* Tenebrae David, for brass ensemble (2001)
* Theseus Game, for large ensemble with two conductors (2002)
* Cantus Iambeus, for thirteen instruments (2004)
* The Io Passion: Nocturnes, for clarinet and string quartet (2004)
* Cortege, for 14 musicians (2007: a reworking of Ritual Fragment)
* Virelai (Sus une fontayne) (after Johannes Ciconia), for 12 players (2008)
* Crescent Moon over the Irrational, for flute doubling piccolo, clarinet, harp and string quartet (2010)
* Fantasia upon all the notes for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet, (2011)
* In Broken Images, for woodwind, brass and percussion (2011-12)
* Five Lessons in a Frame, for ensemble (2015: the 5 Duets, framed by a new chorale)
* Sonance for a New Space, for 3 trumpets, 4 trombones and bells (2018)
* Donum Simoni MMXVIII (2018) for woodwind, brass and percussion

## Instrumental groups of 5 or fewer performers, without voices

* Refrains and Choruses, for wind quintet (1957)
* Précis, for piano (1960)
* Verses, for clarinet and piano (1965)
* Linoi, for basset clarinet in A and piano, or clarinet, piano, tape and dancer; or clarinet, piano and cello (1968)
* Four Interludes for a Tragedy, for basset clarinet and tape (1968)
* Ut Heremita Solus (after Ockeghem), for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and glockenspiel (1969)
* Hoquetus David (after Machaut), for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and glockenspiel (1969)
* 8 Lessons for Keyboards (1969: unpublished)
* Signals, for clarinet and tape (1970: unpublished)
* Dinah and Nick's Love Song, for 3 melody instruments and harp (1970)
* Sad Song, for piano (1971)
* Chanson de Geste, for amplified sustaining instrument and tape (1973: withdrawn)
* Clarinet Quintet, for clarinet and string quartet (1980)
* Pulse Sampler, for oboe and claves (1981)
* Duets for Storab, for 2 flutes (1983)
* Berceuse de Jeanne, for piano (1984)
* Antiphonies from the Moonkeeper, for trumpet (1985)
* Hector's Dawn, for piano (1987)
* An Interrupted Endless Melody, for oboe and piano (1991)
* 5 Distances for 5 Instruments, for flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, bassoon and horn in F (1992)
* Hoquetus Petrus, for two flutes and piccolo trumpet (1995)
* 9 Movements, for string quartet (1991–1996)
* Harrison’s Clocks, for piano (1997–98)
* The Silk House Tattoo, for two trumpets and 3 side drums (1998)
* Betty Freeman: Her Tango, for piano (2000)
* Ostinato with Melody, for piano (2000)
* The Axe Manual, for piano and percussion (2000)
* Saraband: The King's Farewell, for piano (2001)
* Crowd, for solo harp (2005)
* The Io Passion - Aubades and Nocturnes, for basset clarinet and string quartet (2006)
* Dance of the metro-gnome, for piano (2006)
* Five Little Antiphonies for Amelia, for two trumpets (2006)
* Double Hocket, for piano trio (2007)
* The Tree of Strings, for string quartet (2007)
* 3 Fugues from The Art of Fugue (after Bach), for string quartet (2008)
* The Message (Duet 1), for E flat clarinet, trumpet in C and military drum (2008)
* Bourdon (Duet 2), for violin and viola (2009)
* Roddy's Reel, for bass clarinet with audience participation (2009)
* Oboe Quartet (2009–10)
* Duet 3, for cor anglais and bassoon (2010)
* Trio, for violin, cello and piano (2010)
* Gigue Machine, for piano (2011)
* Beyond the White Hand, for guitar (2013)
* Variations from the Golden Mountain, for piano (2014)
* Duet 4, for violin and flute (2014)
* Duet 5, for horn and trombone (2014)
* Hoquetus Irvineus, for string quartet (2014)
* The Silk House Sequences, for string quartet (2015)
* Intrada, for piano and percussion (2017)
* Keyboard Engine, for two pianos (2017-18)
* Duet for Eight Strings, for viola and cello (2018)

## Vocal music (with and without instruments)

* Monody for Corpus Christi, for soprano, flute, violin and horn (1959)
* Narration: A Description of the Passing of a Year, for a cappella chorus (1963)
* Music for Sleep, for children's voices, piano and percussion (1963)
* Entr'actes and Sappho Fragments, for soprano and instruments (1964)
* Ring a Dumb Carillon, for soprano (+ suspended cymbals), clarinet in B flat and percussion (1964–65)
* Carmen Paschale, motet for choir and organ (1965)
* The Visions of Francesco Petrarca (1965-66: withdrawn)
* Monodrama (1967)
* Cantata, for soprano and instruments (1969)
* Nenia: The Death of Orpheus, for soprano, 3 bass clarinets, crotales and piano (1970)
* Meridian, for mezzosoprano, 2 three-part women's choirs and instruments (1970–71)
* Prologue, for tenor and 7 instruments (1971)
* The Fields of Sorrow, for 2 sopranos, 8-part choir and instruments (1972)
* Epilogue, "Full fathom five", for baritone, horn, 4 trombones and 6 tam-tams (1972)
* La Plage: 8 Arias of Remembrance, for soprano and 5 instruments (1972)
* Five Chorale Preludes (after J.S. Bach), for soprano, clarinet, basset horn and bass clarinet (1975)
* … agm …, for 16 voices and 3 instrumental ensembles (1978–1979)
* On the Sheer Threshold of the Night, Madrigal, for 4 soloists and 12-voice choir (1980)
* Deowa, for soprano and clarinet in B flat (1983)
* Songs by Myself, for soprano and chamber ensemble (1984)
* Words Overheard, for soprano and chamber orchestra (1985)
* 4 Songs of Autumn, for soprano and string quartet (1988)
* An die Musik, for soprano and chamber ensemble (1988)
* The Wine Merchant Robin of Mere, for male voice and piano (1989)
* 4 Poems by Jaan Kaplinski, for soprano and 13 instruments (1991)
* 9 Settings of Celan (may be performed as a set or individually) for soprano, 2 clarinets, viola, cello and double bass (1989–96)
* Pulse Shadows (the 9 Movements for string quartet interleaved with the 9 Settings of Celan) (1989–96)
* The Woman and the Hare, for soprano, reciter and ensemble (1998)
* Love Cries, from the opera The Second Mrs. Kong, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and orchestra (1999)
* Three Latin Motets, from The Last Supper, for unaccompanied choir (1999)
* 9 Settings of Lorine Niedecker, for soprano and cello (1998–2000)
* The Sadness of Komachi, for tenor and prepared piano (2000)
* The Ring Dance of the Nazarene, for baritone, tombak, choir and ensemble (2003)
* The Gleam, for unaccompanied choir (2003)
* 3 Brendel Settings, for baritone and orchestra (2000–04)
* 3 Arias by Bach, for soprano, countertenor and chamber ensemble (2003–04)
* 26 Orpheus Elegies, for oboe, harp and countertenor (2003–04)
* Today Too, for tenor, flute and guitar (2004)
* Neruda Madrigales, for chorus and ensemble with live electronics (2004–05)
* The Mouse Felt…, for baritone and piano (2005)
* Lullaby, for two sopranos, unaccompanied (2006)
* Song of Myself, for baritone, double bass and percussion (2006)
* Bogenstrich for baritone, cello and piano (2006-09)
* Angel Fighter, for chamber chorus, tenor, countertenor and ensemble (2009)
* From Vanitas, for tenor and piano (2009)
* Semper Dowland, semper dolens (after Dowland), for tenor and ensemble (2009)
* 3 Settings of Lorine Niedecker, for soprano and cello (2011)
* The Moth Requiem, for twelve female voices, three harps and alto flute (2012)
* Songs from the Same Earth, for tenor and piano (2012-13)
* Chorale-Prelude, for SATB chorus a capella (2014)
* Three Songs from The Holy Forest, for soprano and ensemble (2016-17)
* ...when falling asleep, for soprano, speaker and ensemble (2019)

## Electronic music

* Chronometer, for 2 asynchronous 4-track tapes (1971–72)

## Incidental music for theatre
### National Theatre productions

* Hamlet (1975)
* Tamburlaine the Great (1976)
* Julius Caesar (1977)
* Volpone (1977)
* The Country Wife (1977)
* The Cherry Orchard (1978: with Dominic Muldowney)
* Brand (1978)
* The Double Dealer (1978)
* Herod (1978: with Dominic Muldowney)
* As You Like It (1979)
* The Oresteia (1981)
* The Trojan War Will Not Take Place (1983)
* Coriolanus (1984)
* The Tempest (1988)
* The Winter's Tale (1988)
* Cymbeline (1988)
* Bacchai (2002)

### Other

* The Innocents (play by William Archibald) (1976)

## Film scores

* The Offence (1972)