Elegy for String Orchestra - in memory of all haemophiliacs and others who have lost their lives due to contaminated blood and blood products.

Sanguis Venenatus originated from an elegy, the fifth piece in a cycle of 10 string quartets which I finished writing in 2009. The quartets are based on a theme inspired by birds of prey. 
During 2009, I watched four of my haemophiliac friends die of complications due to contaminated blood. In the United Kingdom, 4,670 adults and children were given blood or blood products which were tainted with deadly viruses. Over 2,000 have since died, and of these, 1,243 were infected with HIV. I am one of less than 300 surviving haemophiliacs in this group. Having been infected with HIV at the age of 9, I have lived all these years just trying to take each day as it comes finding the strength to stay optimistic through the gift of music. 
At some point I made a decision to adapt the string quartet into a piece for full string orchestra forces. I did this to increase the depth of the elegy.
The score bears the following inscription: “This work is dedicated to all the haemophiliacs and others who have lost their lives through contaminated blood and blood products.”
On Saturday 20th March, 2010, Sanguis Venenatus was premièred by the Todmorden Orchestra under their conductor (and RCM alumni) Nick Concannon Hodges. The premiere was followed by extremely positive review. The elegy then received a second performance during a service in
Westminster Abbey with the strings of the London Charity Orchestra under William Carslake on Wednesday 30th March, 2011. The service celebrated the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the UK’s Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act (1970); pioneering legislation introduced with great
effort and considerable endurance by the late Rt. Hon. The Lord Morris of Manchester, a long-time supporter and advocate of persons with haemophilia. The many provisions of this Act of Parliament have, amongst other things,
given support to the afflicted and bereaved family members of the stricken haemophilia community.
On 9th July, 2011, Sanguis Venenatus was professionally recorded by the strings of the Moravian Philharmonic under Petr Vronský at Reduta Hall, Olomouc, Czech Republic. Since the release of the CD, the elegy has been widely broadcast, both internationally and in the United Kingdom.
[Notes by the Composer]

Dimensions: Works for String Orchestra

Sanguis Venenatus

Andrew March was the winner of the first Masterprize International Composing Competition in 1998 with his orchestral piece Marine - à travers les arbres. He was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, in November 1973. In 1992 he was accepted at the Royal College of Music to study composition with Jeremy Dale Roberts, graduating in 1996.

Sanguis Venenatus

AndrewMarchComposer