The Mask of Orpheus - The Music

The Music

The Mask of Orpheus, in addition to vocal and orchestral music, contains a significant amount of electronic music, (which was precisely composed by Birtwistle, and realized on his behalf by Barry Anderson). Each act has its own electronic "aura", which goes on continuously, sometimes prominently, sometimes inaudibly; the voice of Apollo is heard on several occasions as an electronic sound "speaking" in an invented language. These electronic sounds were made by Anderson in Paris at IRCAM.

There are also six purely electronic interludes created by computer manipulation of harp sounds.