It's done!

[kenjari]

"St. Govan's Head" is finally finished. I gave the layout the final one-over and made a title page this evening. It's ready to bring to the printer on Wednesday. "St. Govan's Head" is a sextet for flute, oboe, two violins, and two cellos. It's in three movements: "Solitude", "Prayer", and "Visions". I started it last summer, so it's taken me a year to write, which is really too long. But I did have a bit of trouble with it in places, mostly because I was experimenting with a much looser approach to form and structure than I'd been using over the past few years. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out - it does exactly what I wanted it to.
I started "St. Govan's Head" shortly after returning from my honeymoon in Wales last year. The piece was inspired by one of the places we visited - St. Govan's Head, on the Pembroke coast. It's a small 13th century chapel built into the side of a cliff right at the edge of the sea. St. Govan's is in the middle of nowhere; Other Kenjari and I had a very hard time finding it. But it's worth the trip. St. Govan's is remote and austere, but peaceful and lovely. Standing there I think I finally understoiod what drove medieval mystics and ascetics (who I've always found rather fascinating) to do what they did. I think in experiencing that place, I was able to see what such people gained from the lives they lived there. It would take a very special kind of devotion to live such a life in such a place. But the rewards would be equally special. I tried to get some of this into the piece.

Comments

[qualario.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see a score for it.

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you! If you send a mailing address to kenjari@mindspring.com, I would be more than happy to send along a copy.