James Weeks: Bee Haven: Streichorchester

The latest in a series of pieces written for CoMA string players, Bee Haven is a sound environment, an imaginary outdoor space populated by plants, flowers and bees. The sound of honeybee humming is the main focus of the work; around this, the bees’ ‘haven’ (a living environment, free from agricultural poisons and habitat destruction) is created through quiet air noise and gentle brushing of the instruments. There are no events in the piece save one brief flurry of rain; placing themselves within it, listeners become part of the imagined space for the duration of the work.