Love and Death (Variation On the Tristan Chord)

This showcases some of my music as performed by the Ravel Virtual Studio - the closest yet to a live professional performance for these pieces.

The String quintet is written for 2 violins 1 viola and 2 cellos (Boccherini style) and comprises four movements:

1st movement: "Marie for shame" is based on my setting of a Ronsard poem addressed to a young lady who will not get up in the morning.
He encourages her to bestir herself and to "gather rosebuds while she may", while she is still young.

2nd movement: Nocturne The young lady of the first movement returns to her pillow for another snooze!

3rd movement: Camp David A change of scene as the Yiddish folksong Ikh bin e meidel in de yoren (I am a maiden come of age) takes over and skips in a lovely camp quasi-Jewish dance

4th movement: Blue Boar Blue - a complete change here as the inspiration comes from the words of a love-lorn poet who has to spend his time studying, while his thoughts are on
punting down the river with his girlfriend in a "menthol flavoured dream".

A Dark Goddess for flute and string orchestra is based on my setting of the Melissanthi poem "Hour Zero" - the cat from the Egyptian tomb gives us a prophecy of doom from millennia ago.

A Dark Goddess for flute and string quartet basically the same as the string orchestra version but more intimate

Waiting in Woomera for string orchestra is a simple piece written specially for a school orchestra on their trip to Woomera rocket base - the children wait patiently but with barely suppressed excitement for the take-off
and when the rocket finally rises into the sky the music changes to a gentle triple time, a waltz in the sky.

Love and Death (Variation on the Tristan chord) for full orchestra is based on the famous chord sequence in Wagner's opera, possibly one of my most dramatic instrumental endeavours. After a quick reminder of Wagner's original sequence
the composition revolves around a 7/8 melodic theme which climbs up the tonalities
as suggested by that chord sequence, and a 3/8 counter melody which also fits into the scheme.

The Swabian Railway Song for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, viola, cello and piano. The music follows the steam train as it speeds up and slows down,
and uses the old (19th century) German song called "Auf de Schwäb'sche Eisebahne" (On the Swabian railway) which relates all the stations which the train calls at
- a sort of upbeat alternative to Flanders and Swan's song "The slow train" ;-)).

Spanish Extravaganza for ensemble (2 guitars, 2 pairs of castanets, oboe, clarinet, cor anglais, trumpet and trombone) was first performed at a festival in Skelmersdale with guitars and castanets either side of the stage for antiphonal effect,
and is based on the idea of using my Spanish translation of the madrigal "All creatures now are merry minded"
(Ahora todas las criaturas están de Pascuas").
The general jollity is interrupted from time to time by "admonitory" chords from the brass instruments, but everyone is determined not to let them disturb their merry-making.