Snow and Ash, for harp and strings (string orchestra, sextet, or piano reduction) (2015) – 9'
Snow and Ash, dedicated to harpist
Amy Thompson, sets a brooding landscape of tolling low octaves from which a theme rises in the ‘celli, and is answered by a theme the upper strings. Those themes develop as the harp emerges from the depths to weave around the strings, until the intensity subsides and the harp introduces a third, more lyrical theme. The rest grows from these themes, swelling and fading, ultimately returning to the setting from which it began.
It exists in three versions — one for harp and string orchestra, one for harp and string sextet (2 vln., vla., 2 vlc., d.b.), and one for harp and piano reduction.