Ian Wilson
Limena
Duration: 17'
Dedication: for Matthew Schellhorn
Instrumentation details:
pno
violin
violin
viola
violoncello
Wilson - Limena for piano and string quartet
Work introduction
This piece shares some of
the characteristics of an earlier chamber piece of mine called Leaves and Navels, in that it begins with a feeling of mind
wandering, with ideas coming into focus only to be replaced by other ideas, not
unlike a Joycean stream-of-consciousness. As the piece progresses the strongest
ideas are returned to, sometimes being developed, sometimes not. The opening
third of the piece is set mainly in the top half of the piano, while the middle
part becomes darker and more profound in tone and timbre, its chant-like melody
serving the same purpose as a Dies irae. The final part is more
reflective, more concerned with what has gone before.
The string orchestra is
always supportive of the soloist in this work, and I have them muted
throughout, using metal practice mutes in order to keep the atmosphere as
intimate as possible, and also to exploit the unusual timbre of these devices.
The work was commissioned
by the Irish Chamber Orchestra for Hugh Tinney and that ensemble.
Ian Wilson