Emerging (lightly)

Commissioned by Mobius for its tenth anniversary project, and first performed by them at the Wigmore Hall on 22 March 2008, Emerging (lightly) is a showcase for solo viola, flute, clarinet, harp, two violins and cello. The music is fleet and light, concerned with the developing relationship between two contrasting ideas that is mediated by the solo instrument. Writing in The Times, Richard Morrison praised Emerging (lightly) for its musical argument: ‘Here the viola was the still centre of a quicksilver polyphonic whirl, before intoning a haunting folk-like tune over an oasis of calm G major. The impression was of a serene character quelling fractious colleagues. Intriguing and stimulating …’