Strange Travels (for chamber orchestra)
composer: Nancy Galbraith (2013)
genre(s): chamber orchestra • symphony orchestra
length: 2 movements, 12:00 minutes
publisher: Subito Music Publishing (ASCAP)
60 Depot Street, Verona, NJ 07044
mail@subitomusic.com • 973-857-3440
orchestration: fl, ob, cl, bs-cl, bn; tpt, hn, tbn;
hrp, pno, 2 perc; strings (amplified)
audio/video:    

world premiere: 1 March 2014
Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble; Daniel Nesta Curtis, conductor
Kresge Recital Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
movements: 1: Khao San Road   2: Ayutthaya
program notes:

"Strange Travels" was composed for the Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble and premiered in March 2014. Galbraith rescored it for symphony orchestra in 2022.

The title alludes to the sensation of motion imparted by the music, through two aural landscapes of an unfamiliar, almost otherworldly nature. The first movement is a mostly fast-paced journey through a frontier of orchestral textures and colors. The second movement is slower and dreamier, with recurring accents from the electric string pizzacatos.

The title and subtitles also allude to memories of Galbraith's trips to Thialand, which included visits to Khao San Road in Bangkok and the ancient ruins at Ayutthaya.

recordings: Nancy Galbraith: Strange Travels
Centaur Records (CRC 3406) • 2014 • UPC: 044747310626
source: nancygalbraith.com