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- Haflidi Hallgrímsson
Verse I (1975)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Programme Note
In April 1975 I occupied a flat in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, near the seafront. As a member of the English Chamber Orchestra, I had come to work for a week on a recording of Britten’s opera ‘Death in Venice’, so the real and suggested sound of the sea was in my ears, so to speak, for days on end. A few weeks later, when I started work on 'Verse 1', it became clear in the first few bars that I was recalling and suggesting the sea and the beach at Aldeburgh. I am not aware of any direct influence from Britten’s music, but I do, however, quote a small fragment from a theme to be found in a piano quartet by Mahler, played early in the piece by the flute (bars 6 & 7).
'Verse 1' marks the beginning of a more ambitious and intense style of composition. The ideas are relatively simple and develop gradually in a cyclic fashion within a one movement, sectional design. Progressively faster tempi lead to the main climax of the work near the end of the piece. Then a short coda leads to a very quiet ending and a return to the original tonal centre of C.
This work was awarded the First Prize in the Viotti International Competition for composers, in Italy in 1975.
'Verse 1' marks the beginning of a more ambitious and intense style of composition. The ideas are relatively simple and develop gradually in a cyclic fashion within a one movement, sectional design. Progressively faster tempi lead to the main climax of the work near the end of the piece. Then a short coda leads to a very quiet ending and a return to the original tonal centre of C.
This work was awarded the First Prize in the Viotti International Competition for composers, in Italy in 1975.