Programme Note
‘Light Music’ was commissioned by Helen and Harvey Davies with funds made available by the Arts Council of Wales and by the University College of North Wales, Bangor. The first performance was at the Powis Hall, Bangor on 13th November 1997.
Though the work is predominantly bright and rhythmic, the title is ironic. There is a serious of purpose here and the ‘lightness’ is only superficial – a ‘lightness of being’. Musically the piece is a set of variations, five in all and ‘classical’ in the sense that each one simply decorates a basic chord structure which is unchanged throughout. The conception was very swift. I felt I knew in a day or two what I wanted to do and how the piece should work out. Then it was a question of writing the notes down. That process happened in May and June 1997, the idea for the piece having taken shape the previous November. It is played without a break and there are many musical devices incorporated – for example, canons and palindromes. A lot of my music ends quietly so I set myself the challenge of writing a loud ending.