I was given a poem, called ´Release´ written by English storyteller and musician Sarah Fawcett, with the request to set it to music. I have set many poems to music, but interestingly this time, as I set down to compose, the process was different. Instead, the poem inspired a piano solo, rather than an actual setting of the poem.
This gave Sarah and myself an interesting opportunity in presenting the work. We decided as Sarah is a professional storyteller, for her to recite the poem then for me to give a performance of the piano composition it inspired. I felt this particular way of working allowed for the audience to experience a ´contemplation´ on the poem at a deeper level, rather than just a ´performance´.
We gave the premiere on August 23rd 2009 in Milton Keynes, England, and I first performed it as a solo in America in October 2009. Patricia Siffert has recorded the solo piece on the album “Mirrors of Light” and performed it at Gloucester Cathedral, England, in June 2012.
