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Programme Notes

John Woolrich A Presence of Departed Acts (2002)

Taking its title from Emily Dickinson, 'A Presence of Departed Acts' is the latest in a long line of pieces by John Woolrich that are concerned with acts of remembrance. In the Viola and Cello Concertos for example, memories are evoked through allusion to or quotations of music by other composers. Here the remembered object is pure Woolrich: eleven clangorous piano chords that constitute the melodic and harmonic backbone of the work. By turns sweet and astringent, these chords are fragmented and elaborated in a constantly evolving structure that, in effect, becomes a memory of the work’s beginning. The single-minded rigour of the musical structure supports the wildest fantasy in the instrumental gestures that at any moment can veer between bold assertiveness and withdrawn fragility.

© Christopher Austin

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Presence of Departed Acts, A

King's College (Cambridge, United Kingdom)

Composers Ensemble

Presence of Departed Acts, A

Contemporary Arts Centre (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Lithuanian Ensemble Network

Presence of Departed Acts, A

National Arts Centre (Bucharest, Romania)

Profil Ensemble

Presence of Departed Acts, A

Kings Place (London, United Kingdom)

London Sinfonietta

Presence of Departed Acts, A

Kings Place (London, United Kingdom)

Composers Ensemble