The Sands of Forvie (2016)
Piano and Percussion
The genesis of this duet for piano and tuned percussion came about after visiting Forvie Nature Reserve. Hidden amidst the sand dunes is said to be a ruined medieval village destroyed by a storm which left it buried in the sand. The only thing that is left visible above the ground today is the ruined church. In this piece, I paraphrased and developed a left-hand sequence from Debussy’s piano prelude La Cathédrale Engloutie, a piece which has a similar stimulus, describing a sunken Breton cathedral that rises above the sea at certain times. Overall, I wanted to capture a sense of elegy in this piece, inspired by the ruins and all the history held in them.
In terms of harmony for the right-hand piano and percussion, I used a system in which I created a sequence of chords based on a seven-note diatonic scale. The melodies I created for this piece have a modal feel about them, with harmonies also inspired by the likes of Debussy. I also wanted to capture the idea of bells throughout, particularly in my choice of percussion instruments, being tubular bells, vibraphone and crotales played on a range of different felt beaters for dynamic contrast.
The piece was written for the Carlaw-Ogston Composition Award 2016, where it won 2nd prize overall.
PERFORMANCES:
Première: 23 March 2016 - King's College Chapel, University of Aberdeen, Scotland - Spectrum Contemporary Music Ensemble (Thomas Michie - piano, Brodie McCash - percussion)