I've been working on completing a number of pieces this month, trying to get up to speed after a (well deserved?) summer break - in particular two related pieces - a new piano solo piece for the Piano Teachers Consortium of New York and a piece for solo percussion for Matt Farthing. The other project was a sudden (and very welcome) surprise however - a chance to write a brand new piece for a lovely ensemble.
It's been a real delight to work with Isolda and the wonderful musicians of the Moonlight Symphony Orchestra this month. I answered a call for scores, and off the back of my submission was asked to write for them a short work for wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon & horn) with a rather fast turn-around. The piece was completed, rehearsed, programmed and performed within a few weeks of the initial email.
The response to this piece, Fleeting Images, has been totally enthusiastic - I'm personally delighted with the music, especially the weightless way the first section dances across the beat, but it's always a warm feeling when others respond so positively to my work.
It's also great to get the luxury of so much time to work with the musicians, who, as you can hear in the video linked above, really go for it in this performance at St James's Paddington - and they really enjoyed the ridiculously huge acoustic of the space too!
Formally the piece is in two halves - the first a bouncy, syncopated 9/8 and the second a driving, also syncopated, 4/4. Although there is a feeling of a sudden change of speed in the middle, the quaver pulse remains constant almost throughout
