Sedge Fen (3 Oboes Drifting) by Paul Burnell. Composed 2009 with minor revisions to the score in 2023. For instruments in three parts with optional drone. Duration 4:40 approx.

When performed by three oboes only this piece is called ‘3 Oboes Drifting’ and begins at bar 2. When performed by a different or larger ensemble it is called ‘Sedge Fen’. Optional: when reading from the score, parts 1, 2 and 3 may change to different parts where indicated [ 1 ], [ 2], [ 3]. If performed this way players will need to read from the score. The part 4 drone on low G is optional and may be played an octave higher or lower. Part 4 reads from the score or is cued by the conductor. If played by a large ensemble some instruments may alternate between parts 3 and 4. Part 3 may be played an octave lower. If necessary reduce the number of players on part 3 at bar 58 to achieve a pianissimo dynamic. If voices are part of the ensemble, female voices may sing part 3 to ‘oo’ and male voices may sing part 4 with an open-lipped hum ‘nn’ or ‘uu’.

Programme note

‘Sedge Fen (3 Oboes Drifting)’ is a companion piece to ‘Tricorder (3 Oboes Dancing)’ both of which can be performed by three oboes or by different or larger ensembles.

Sedges are flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes. Members of the sedge family have triangular stems (with occasional exceptions), and their leaves are spirally arranged in three ranks.

A fen is a type of wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater.

Sedge Fen is a small village in Suffolk, a few miles from Lakenheath, close to the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk borders in England.