Forms that seem to float atop a vibrant and disorienting surface

A live recording by the Ciompi Quartet, for whom the work was written.

Commissioned as part of the Portfolio Project 2022/2023, Duke University

swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; (a remembrance)

In February 2022, the Australian composer Nigel Butterley (1935-2022) passed away, and this small remembrance piece was written with him in mind. Nigel was a teacher, a mentor, and a friend, and his passing an enormous loss.

The line swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; comes from one of Nigel’s favourite poems, ‘Pied Beauty’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Although Nigel was particularly known for his vocal music and affinity with text, he felt that Hopkins wasn’t suitable for setting to music, in part because of its intricate linguistic texture and own internal music. So rather than setting the words to music, I’ve tried to set music to the words - to find something swift, slow, sweet, sour, adazzle, and dim. The poem praises all things “counter, original, spare, strange”, and I hope that the piece does the same, forging its own austere, strange, and beautiful ‘internal music’ for these words.

swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;  [LIVE RECORDING]

Vita Brevis

Chris Williams Composer

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