Leavings

(2015-16)

Duration: 14′

Description

Two Elegies for string orchestra

1. Departure  2. Remembrance

Departure includes a part for optional handbell.

Remembrance can be performed as a separate item.

Recorded by the Ukrainian Festival Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann on Toccata Classics.

Reviews

“… a deeply felt work that makes imaginative use of instrumental solos.”

(William Hedley, MusicWeb Intenational)

Programme Note

The second of these two pieces was written first, for a recording project devised by my friend Martin Anderson who had asked various composers to write pieces in memory of his partner Yodit. Shortly after having written my piece, which I entitled Remembrance, I heard of the death of Peter Maxwell Davies, a composer who meant a lot to me in my youth.

I therefore decided to write a companion piece (Departure) whose somewhat sombre mood balanced the more wistful character of Remembrance. Together, the two pieces form a contrasted diptych of mourning and reflection.