Two Poems was commissioned by the Late Music Concert Series. Looking back on it, it’s a piece which details my battle with depression, which lasted from about half-way through studying for a PhD in composition to a year or so after completion.

When you rise; uses the melody of Roger Marsh’s Thomas Dekker setting for voice and marimba and re-contextualises it, in some ways exploding it. When I wrote about missing; for my PhD commentary, I couched it in terms of non-development etc. Really it was written  in a moment of profound grief and in the depths of depression. It is pure self-expression.

1. when you rise;

when you rise; is based on and derived (with permission) from Roger Marsh’s Lullaby, itself a setting of the poem “Golden slumbers kiss your eyes” by Thomas Dekker (1570-1632). The poem (and Roger’s setting) is evocative of a certain maternal comfort. Initially conceived as a “Linus blanket” of a piece, this setting explores the darker nature of the poem, which speaks of grief, and which is more poignant during periods of distress and loneliness. Marsh’s setting of the poem is economical, understated and, through use of static harmony and very subtle but very effective modulation during the refrain, sets the text remarkably. when you rise; takes the pitch material and verse-refrain structure of the Marsh as a starting point for a structure that attempts to transcend the comforting sentiment of the poem and comment on the darker sentiments that inspired it.

2. missing.

missing. was written in the depths of depression and in a moment of profound grief. The title is a take on composer Richard Whalley’s piano piece Missing Jen, which is a love song for piano dedicated to his wife. The nature of the musical language owes a debt to “My Bonny Boy”, a movement from Michael Finnissy’s English Country-Tunes.