The Gradual Slowing of the Earth (2014)
(Concerto for Organ and Symphonic Winds)

The Earth’s rotation has been gradually slowing for over 4 billion years. This has had a lasting impact on geophysical activity that shapes mountains, oceans, the interior of the planet and its crust. The slow-down is so microscopic (milliseconds per century) that we are unable to physically sense the phenomenon.

This concerto for organ and symphonic winds is written in contemplation of a ‘global slow-down’. It’s an unsettling idea – but apparently it also allows gravity to pull the planet’s shape into an ever more perfect sphere.

The gradual slowing of the Earth is cast in one continuous movement of around 15 minutes duration and was commissioned by the Melbourne City Council for the RAAF Band conducted by Mathew Shelley and featuring Brendon Lukin as organ soloist.