Sangsters (2002)
(Concerto for Orchestra)

The starting point for the piece is a poem written in Scots by Betty McKellar (reproduced in the score as an accompaniment to the performance). The three movements are connected to the three verses, and feature different soloists from within the orchestra. The first, light in character, concentrates on the higher instruments: piccolo, flute, oboe and clarinet, as well as solo violins. There is also a big solo part for timpani. I have notated the songs of sky-larks, and high-lighted the strong resemblance between these fragile sounds and the filigree ornamentation of pibroch (bagpipe music). The second movement is much darker, and the soloists are lower pitched - cor anglais, bass clarinet, contra bassoon; and solo viola, cello and bass. There are echoes of traditional songs; wave-shapes are set against a rhythmic, slow beating. The last movement, again influenced by traditional singing from both Scotland and Sweden, begins with a fanfare for trumpets, which leads into chorale-like writing for brass, contrasted with fragments from the first two movements. The centre of the movement takes the form of a fugue.

Sangsters is the final work to be written as a result of my residency with the Scottish and Swedish Chamber orchestras. However this one is a little different, in that the main funding has come from the work's dedicatees, Beryl Calver-Jones and Gerry Mattock. Beryl and Gerry have now commissioned a number of diverse pieces from me, and their support and input is something I wish to acknowledge as having had a profound effect on my development as a composer.