Wittenham Clumps
Browse Works
Additional Information
This is a pair of short movements for small orchestra inspired by the famous landmark, Wittenham Clumps (officially called the Sinodun Hills), in Oxfordshire. These two symmetrical hills are in a 'sacred landscape' going back millennia, with an Iron Age hill-fort on one of them, a Bronze Age riverside settlement, a Roman fort, Anglo-Saxon cathedral (now an abbey). and much else. It has been continually inhabited by people for some 5000 years, at least, and has a special, magical atmosphere, with sweeping views of the Chilterns and the Berkshire Downs. It was a favourite subject of the painter Paul Nash.
