Arctic Fire (Stephen Chin) for String Orchestra

The striking sound of the first violin harmonics cut as blowing ice in an Arctic landscape.  It's so cold you just start to burn.  These are just a couple of the images that this powerful work conjures up to players and audiences.  "Arctic Fire" abounds in tonal surprises including glissando, pizzicato, metrical changes, harmonics, tremolo and drones. Effective textures, such as a string quartet playing a section with the backing of the rest of the ensemble, have been created.  Melodic interest shifts around and even the bass has a significant solo.  Musicians love to really let fly, in the best sense, with this composition! Grade 3.