for orchestra (2019)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov (orchestra)

extract of world premiere, Tectonics Glasgow, City Halls, Glasgow, 1 May 2022

recorded by BBC Radio 3; used with permission

www.bbc.co.uk/radio3

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Weligwic (Anglo-Saxon, ‘place of willows’) is a sibling of my string quartet Leafleoht (‘Leaf-light’, 2018), and is similarly concerned with images of light and foliage, and our indwelling in the natural world (a theme woven through the mythology of willows since ancient times). The two pieces share many materials and follow a similar three-section structure, but whereas Leafleoht is concerned with daylight and brightness, Weligwic takes place in a half-light and is overcast and subdued in atmosphere. The first section consists of a series of extremely soft, fleeting aural glimpses; in the long central section, the Grove, the continuous, variegated string texture (a matrix through which each player wanders independently) acts as a field of sounds underlying other, intermittent layers; the third section sees a repeated brightening of the atmosphere, as on a cloudy day when the sun nearly breaks through.

Weligwic (extract)

James Weeks Composer