Sparking & Slipping is a virtuosic showpiece for violin, with an accompagnato group of piano, harp & (mostly tuned) percussion. Its first and last sections are based around an obsessive, dance-like theme, while the central section sees the violin sculpt an extended, lyrical, melodic line. The piano, harp and percussion generally act together as one large resonating chamber for the violin – with the exception of a significant piano solo in the work’s second half.
Instrumentation:
solo violin, piano, harp & percussion (glsp/vib/crot/tam-t)
Duration:
11 mins
Commission:
Written for Sarah Hill
Performances:
31 October 2014
Darragh Morgan (violin) & students from Royal College of Music, Tom Coult (cond.)
Royal College of Music, London, UK
11 September 2014
Sarah Hill (violin), Anne Denholm (harp), Hannah Ely (piano) & Henry Fynn (percussion), Tom Coult (cond.)
Trinity College of Music, London, UK
World premiere