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Gulls And Angels (1993) |
String quartet - 11'
The joyous angels' dancing
underpinning the cosmos, the constant movement of the atoms held in perfect
and continuous balance. Order, structure, calm. The herring gulls have their
own cycles. They wait in stillness, then suddenly, at a signal unperceived by
humans, one straightens up - neck to heaven, beak open - there's a skywards
shriek, and so many more join in, and the sky is full of movement, noise and
wings. Then silence and peace again. Who knows what it was all about?
In reality, our universe is only just ordered. It is so taut and finely measured
- and so easily shattered. How bad for us, how complacent we would all be if
it were not so.
First performance: 12 April 1994, Sorrel Quartet, London