Fretwork

In Dreaming, for tenor and 5 viols. 1995

A setting of some of Caliban’s speech in Act III Sc.II of Shakespeare’s The Tempest

Commissioned by the BBC as part of its series ‘Music for a While’, celebrating the tercentenary of Purcell’s death and Sir Michael Tippett’s 90th birthday, ‘In Dreaming’ was first performed by Martyn Hill and Fretwork at Pebble Mill, Birmingham, in January 1995.

The text, from ‘The Tempest’, is quoted at the end of Tippett’s essay, ‘Moving into Aquarius’, and also ties in with Purcell’s ‘The Tempest’, though neither composer actually set it.

The piece is designed to follow Purcell’s Fantazia upon one note, opening with an octave F sharp and pairs of notes equidistant from middle C. The vocal line opens with a rising ninth figure taken from Tippett’s Triple Concerto. Towards the end, fragments of the Purcell Fantazia appear.

Commissioned by the BBC. First performed and broadcast 7th January 1995. BBC Pebble Mill Studios, Birmingham.

Divan 2009

a setting of Sufi poetry by the 15th century Persian poet Hafez, for 6 viols, alto & oboe

Divan was commissioned by The Cambridge Festival and first performed by Michael Chance, Nicholas Daniel and Fretwork in King’s College Chapel on 25th November 2009. It lasts approximately 25 minutes and the movements are as follows: Introduction; Nightingale; Refrain 1; Fish; Falcon; Horse; Refrain 2; Hoopoe; Coda.