Nocturne, in nine fragments (2014)
For fl, cl, bn, hn, pno, vln, vla, vc
Commissioned by The Vancouver New Music Ensemble
Duration: 10 min
Instrumentation: Flute/Alto Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello
(this work is no longer available)
Nocturne, in Nine Fragments was written in response to Jean Coulthard’s work Poem (1945/1972) for violin and piano. Taking inspiration from her subtitle, “Night Song”, I sought to create my own interpretation of a piece that would evoke the stillness and mystery of night, but also maintain a strong connection to Coulthard’s composition by drawing a number of significant musical materials and moments from Poem. Borrowed elements appear in varying degrees of recognizability; they are at times distorted, expanded, juxtaposed or combined with my own material. At other moments they are directly quoted though recontextualised in ways meant to evoke nostalgia, to draw connections, or simply to explore a counterpoint between the past and the present.
