Dances and Nocturnes (1986)

Dances and Nocturnes was a Wilde Festival Commission and was first performed at Bracknell in 1986 by ‘Contraband’.

It is dedicated to a child born with Down’s Syndrome who died very young, and is a set of variations on a lullaby I had already written for another Down’s baby.

It is intended to portray the different facets of these extraordinary children – their awkward grace, affectionate nature and instinctive rhythmic ability.

Each instrument in turn (piano, bass, then violin) is the soloist in a ‘dance’ followed by a ‘nocturne’, and the piece finishes with a dance and nocturne for all three.