Invocation (2004)
Invocation (2004)
10′
Solo piano
fp. 28 May 2005; Adrian Hull, Concert Hall, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Invocation (2004) (pdf)
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Invocation (2004) (mp3)
PROGRAMME NOTE
I began composing Invocation in July 2004 as a celebratory piece for my fiancée’s Grandfather, Alistair Robb in celebration of his impending 90th birthday. I initially imagined the piece would be a mixture of fanfare-like bombast and meditative melancholy, as would be fitting for such an occasion. It would only be after I had composed some 50 bars that I realised that the piece I had envisaged had mutated into something quite different. The initial melancholic theme vaguely Scottish in its construction, had pervaded all sections of the music; the characteristic acciaccatura (‘crushed’ note) present throughout. Whereas the lilting nature of the opening material can be tangibly felt all over, the more celebratory music is reserved for grandiose cadential features (such as the very end).
The soundworld of this work is one of many different aspects each coming together to form an understandable whole. In this piece I envisaged folk-melodies (half heard), fanfares, lullabies, Communion bells, anguish, despair, redemption and an unending battle between intense dark and intense light. This coming together of disparate parts to form a meaningful whole is somewhat like what I imagine a lifetime of memories must be like – all of these fleeting thoughts (whether happy/sad, good/bad etc) coming together to form a person’s life, and dare I say it, soul.
PAC