Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth - Wigglesworth: Clocks from A Winter's Tale (2022) [Hi-Res]

As its title suggests, Clocks from The Winter's Tale developed out of material originally conceived for Ryan Wigglesworth’s opera based upon William Shakespeare’s play. The subtitle of that play – ‘The Triumph of Time’ – is particularly pertinent. Rash acts are shown to cause catastrophe, while the power of time’s constant progression gradually returns those harmed to their rightful places, and establishes the true course of destiny once more. The circularity of time, the warping of the listener's perception of time, and the juxtaposition of ‘clock’ time and psychological time are the work’s central ideas.

The Concertgebouworkest’s distinct, individual sound is inextricably linked with the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw. Since its foundation in 1888, this beautiful ‘sounding box’, like that of a string instrument, has formed the basis for the development of the orchestra’s own individual sound in rehearsals and concerts.

The acoustics particular to the hall don’t make it easy for the orchestral players, though. In order to hear each other on stage, they have to listen to one another very closely, as if they were playing chamber music. The orchestra’s unique sound – both homogeneous and transparent at the same time – is the result.