Joe Stollery

This is a nocturne with some theatrical elements for horn and an ensemble of low-range instruments (bass clarinet, contrabassoon, cello, double bass, harmonium, and percussion). The title refers to a historical region of south-central France associated with the legend of the Beast of Gevaudan, which was said to be a wolf-like creature that terrorised the region in the mid-18th century. The account has been treated as an early version of the werewolf myth – it includes one of the earliest records of a silver bullet being used by the hunter who eventually brought it down. It has been suggested that the Beast was in fact a now-extinct species of hyena that escaped private captivity.

I chose deep instruments in the ensemble to give the impression of darkness and depth – this is spiked with the reed timbres of the harmonium to add menace as well as a hint of rusticity. From the start, the ensemble is set around a rotating series of fairly tonal harmonium chords, to which they add ‘forest murmurs’ which both chime in concord and clash chromatically with the harmonic progressions.

The solo part for horn – representing the Beast – was chosen mainly for its lupine connotations, but it goes further, in that the part reveals many virtuosic techniques and vocalisations to give the impression of hyena calls. Furthermore, the impression of the hornist vocalising within their instrument suggests an added symbolic dimension of a human in the guise of a wolf. The soloist appears around halfway into the piece, responding independently and chromatically to the ensemble murmurings, who echo some of the horn-calls, much like a natural forest can.

The percussionist who appears towards the climax of the piece, plays a field drum – If possible, this drum could also be played by the director of the ensemble, who otherwise is not to conduct the ensemble but allow them to freely perform around the harmonium. This notion reflects a historical practice in 18th century France where the conductor beats time with a drum – and it symbolises the hunter appointed by the King, who ‘invades’ the forest and brings the Beast down. The music depicts a battle between the horn and drum, building to a savage dissonance, before a sudden switch on percussion to a triangle (the ‘silver bullet’!) stops everything for a moment.

A few fragile chords on the harmonium follow, then the last iteration of the chords is given over to the rest of the ensemble, calm once more in their darkest depths, but with a sense of loss following the absence of the horn. However, as the percussionist departs to a steady drumbeat, there is a last distant call from the horn at the end of the piece, suggesting the legend of the Beast remains even now to haunt the forests of Gevaudan.