Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Britta Byström
A Walk After Dark (2014)
- Edition Wilhelm Hansen Copenhagen (World)
Programme Note
Just before A Walk After Dark, I wrote a solo piece for viola called Dream Day – a Sigmund Freud term referring to the day prior to a dream, from which the dream collects its material. The concerto thus became "the dream", a journey away from everyday life, where disparate elements meet in a logic of its own. It is written in six movements, with small "bridges" in between. The soloist – the "dreamer" – leads the music in the movements, while the orchestra takes command in the "bridges" and moves the soloist to a new stage of dreaming.
I have used a West-african melody, often played on the string instrument n'goni, in the "bridges". In the movements, there are references to the Swedish composer Anders Eliasson, who passed away 2013. There are also traces of a Swedish hymn, "Bereden väg for Herran" ("Prepare the Way, O Zion!"), which I discovered resembled the n'goni-melody. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Anders Eliasson.
Britta Byström
I have used a West-african melody, often played on the string instrument n'goni, in the "bridges". In the movements, there are references to the Swedish composer Anders Eliasson, who passed away 2013. There are also traces of a Swedish hymn, "Bereden väg for Herran" ("Prepare the Way, O Zion!"), which I discovered resembled the n'goni-melody. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Anders Eliasson.
Britta Byström
Media
A Walk After Dark (Live)