Premiered by Juice on Friday 26 May in their programme as part of the Red House Recitals. 

Anna Snow (soprano)
Sarah Dacey (soprano)
Kerry Andrew (alto)

Music composed by Hayley Allen
Words written by Christina Rossetti.

Goblin Market was composed during the second year of my undergraduate degree. The text used is an extract taken from the beginning of the eponymous poem written by Christina Rossetti. Published in 1862, the poem can be understood to tackle issues of sexual and religious morality within the context of the Victorian era, and the double standards that were applied when addressing a man and woman’s sexuality. While it was acceptable for a man to commit adultery, for a woman it meant ostracisation. The goblins and fruit are metaphors for men and sexual sin, respectively. Later we learn that Laura, the fallen maiden of the story, is saved by her sister Lizzie, with the poem ending with these final words:

            “For there is no friend like a sister
             In calm or stormy weather;
            To cheer one on the tedious way,
            To fetch one if one goes astray,
            To lift one if one totters down,
            To strengthen whilst one stands.”

Goblin Market (2015)

"What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now." - Ecclesiastes 1: 3-11

A Time Of Progress

An excerpt of a recorded performance earlier this year by students of Royal Holloway, Time Lapse is inspired by Douglas Vincent’s photograph Star Trails over Death Valley,  which uses a type of time-lapse photography to capture the stars of the night sky. The long- exposure of the shutter displays the deceptive motion of rotating stars. The ideas of circularity and slow but constant motion are central to the work. The piece also uses the same combination of instruments that Messiaen used in his Quartet for the End of Time, and exploits the different timbres of each instrument; the colours produced from them both individually and when blended together. The melody and harmony originates from a single chord and its rotations, with a similar approach being used for rhythm, with all rhythmic material stemming from one rhythmic cell, thus exploring how far one small idea can be stretched near to infinity, creating a sense of timelessness.

Violin - Rock Lee
Cello - Carwyn Jones
Clarinet - Sophie Glenny
Piano - Will Farmer

Hayley May