ROBERTO FABBRICIANI (b.1949): Glaciers in Extinction for Hyperbass Flute.

Description: The unearthly sounds of the hyperbass flute, the instrument that makes the 'whispering giant' bass flute sound like a penny-whistle, are presented in relief against a tape part itself derived from the instrument's sounds to suggest the infintesimal progression, melting and re-freezing of glacial ice. The composer has developed a range of extended techniques peculiar to the instrument - percussive breath sounds and keyslaps have the impact of a tree-trunk drum because of the dimensions of the air column - which along with the rushing, hissing background produce a powerful, if abstract, evocation of the planet's retreating ice rivers. Robert Fabbriciani (hyperbass flute).