Programme Notes

In late 2018, the Contrabass virtuoso Valentina Ciardelli arrived at Trinity Laban as its new Double Bass fellow. She was intent on expanding the repertoire involving the double bass. I was part of a group of composers asked to write pieces for various chamber groups including the Double Bass, and I was to write a piece for voice, contrabass, and piano. The requirements were that the piece should explore the full range of the Double Bass and be fairly short.

Tasked with this, I once again came across the poetry of Thomas Hardy, whom I have set before to music (see "I Said to Love" for Tenor and Piano). This time, however, I happened across a smaller poem: the triolet "Birds and Winter Nightfall". The colourful language that Hardy uses to create the setting struck a chord within my imagination immediately, and I started to write. The piece was completed in December 2018, and was premiered in January 2019.

The textures that I used in this piece are my interpretation of a biting cold Winter's night, while the snow falls, threatening the livlihood of the small birds that appear in the gardens of the British Isles as they look in on the humans in their warm houses.

I later arranged the double bass part for cello.