# Circle Map > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Circle_Map > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Circle_Map.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Map > Source revision: 1348667146 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) ''For the circle of lands, see [T and O map](/source/T_and_O_map).'' {{Short description|Composition by Kaija Saariaho}} '''''{{italic title}}Circle Map''''' is a composition for [orchestra](/source/orchestra) and electronics by the Finnish composer [Kaija Saariaho](/source/Kaija_Saariaho). The work was jointly commissioned by the [Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra](/source/Royal_Concertgebouw_Orchestra), the [Boston Symphony Orchestra](/source/Boston_Symphony_Orchestra), the [Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra](/source/Gothenburg_Symphony_Orchestra), the [Orchestre National de France](/source/Orchestre_National_de_France), the [Royal Scottish National Orchestra](/source/Royal_Scottish_National_Orchestra), and the [Stavanger Symphony Orchestra](/source/Stavanger_Symphony_Orchestra). It was first performed at the [Holland Festival](/source/Holland_Festival) in Gashouder, [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam) on June 22, 2012, by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the conductor [Susanna Mälkki](/source/Susanna_M%C3%A4lkki).{{cite web |last=Saariaho |first=Kaija |authorlink=Kaija Saariaho |year=2012 |title=Circle Map |publisher=[G. Schirmer Inc.](/source/G._Schirmer_Inc.) |url=http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/1350/47338 |accessdate=January 19, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Cooper |first=Michael |date=December 7, 2015 |title=Armory's 2016 Season Includes Andriessen Premiere |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/armorys-2016-season-includes-andriessen-premiere/ |accessdate=January 19, 2016}} ==Composition== ''Circle Map'' has a duration of 26 minutes and is composed in six [movements](/source/Movement_(music)): {{Ordered list|type=upper-roman | Morning Wind | Walls closing | Circles | Days are Sieves | Dialogue | Day and Night, Music }} The electronic element of the work features a recording of Arshia Cont reading the writings of the 13th-century poet and theologian [Rumi](/source/Rumi). The six movements of the piece are thus titled after Rumi's poems, translated to English by John Moyne and Coleman Barks from the book ''Unseen Rain: Quatrains of Rumi''. ===Instrumentation=== The work is scored for a large orchestra comprising two [flutes](/source/Western_concert_flute) (doubling [piccolo](/source/piccolo) and [alto flute](/source/alto_flute)), two [oboe](/source/oboe)s, three [clarinet](/source/clarinet)s (doubling [bass clarinet](/source/bass_clarinet)), two [bassoon](/source/bassoon)s (doubling [contrabassoon](/source/contrabassoon), four [horns](/source/French_horn), two [trumpet](/source/trumpet)s, three [trombone](/source/trombone)s, [tuba](/source/tuba), [timpani](/source/timpani), four percussionists, [piano](/source/piano), [harp](/source/Pedal_harp), [celesta](/source/celesta), [strings](/source/String_section), and electronics. ==Reception== Reviewing the North American premiere in [Boston](/source/Boston) by [Juanjo Mena](/source/Juanjo_Mena) and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, [Jeremy Eichler](/source/Jeremy_Eichler) of ''[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)'' regarded ''Circle Map'' as "exquisitely drawn" and wrote:{{quote|Saariaho's works can occasionally bog down beneath the weight of their own abstraction, but in ''Circle Map'', the straightforward (if mystical) poetic texts unlock the piece and make it one of her most accessible orchestral scores. The first movement titled "Morning Wind" is carried on wisps of woodwind melody; "Circles" overlays brass riffs and myriad small repeating gestures. The final movement, the most striking in its gentle lambent light, imagines what Rumi meant by a "quiet, bright reedsong."{{cite web |last=Cooper |first=Michael |date=November 2, 2012 |title=Music of ancient Persian verse, refracted by the centuries |work=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe) |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2012/11/01/bso-performs-premiere-saariaho-circle-map/IxhZUouVWd0gynFJ9nnkjP/story.html |accessdate=January 19, 2016}}}} The composition was also praised by David Wright of ''The Classical Review'', who called it "a rich, multilayered work" and wrote, "All the effort and expense involved in mounting such a work paid off handsomely in the performance, which wove a deeply evocative sound-world around verses by the 13th-century poet Rumi, spoken on the electronic track in the original Persian."{{cite web |last=Wright |first=David |date=November 2, 2012 |title=Saariaho premiere and Shaham's eloquent Britten highlight Boston Symphony program |work=The Classical Review |url=http://theclassicalreview.com/2012/11/saariaho-u-s-premiere-and-shahams-eloquent-britten-highlight-boston-symphony-program/ |accessdate=January 19, 2016}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}}{{Kaija Saariaho}}{{authority control}} Category:Compositions by Kaija Saariaho Category:2012 compositions Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra Category:Music commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra Category:Music commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Category:Music commissioned by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Circle Map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Map) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle_Map?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.