Joe Stollery

Written for the same ensemble as Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, the basis for this piece was the stone circle outside my family house near Pitfichie, however it can be applied generally to any of the many stone circles dotted around the region. The title came about after thinking of the aspect of the recumbent, a large stone laid horizontally at one end of the circle and flanked on either side by menhirs; a design that is generally unique to the North-East of Scotland. Although little is known of the recumbent’s original purpose, its layout and position does seem to suggest a doorway which leads into another, more fantastical world, at least in my opinion. The idea then came about that more came to this secondary world as my imagination developed staring at this recumbent from inside the circle, and so for this piece I decided to create a rigorous set of developing variations that represented the different stages of creation in this world.

It starts with the base theme, a long, roughly dodecaphonic sequence in the piano alone. This symbolises the bare earth at the beginning of its existence.

The first variation introduces the other three instruments, adding new timbral colour and harmonies to the theme, before rising to a climax. This could suggest the start of plant-life in this otherwise barren world.

The second variation is much more pointillist, with a cornucopia of brief, varied sonic outbursts scattered across the instruments. These suggest to me the sounds of animals coming to life.

The third variation continues in the preceding manner, but now establishes itself as a march. The base theme is now transformed into a more tonally focused melody akin to early Stravinsky, and has a rigorous ternary form to it. Overall, humankind could have appeared by now, evolved from the animals.

After a massive climax, the theme returns to its original form as the other instruments slowly dissipate leaving the piano to reprise the opening. After a few brief animal chirps from the other instruments, the piece ends with two sharp but quietly hushed bass chords on the piano.

This piece was written for McOpera, who rehearsed it on 5 February 2016 at the University of Aberdeen.

The score presented here is in C.