3(II=picc&afl.III=picc).3(III=ca).3(II=ebcl.III=bcl).3(III=cbsn) – snosax (or ebcl) – 4.3(I=ptpt).3.1 – timp (+2rtt) – perc(3) – hp – strings

Byzantium (2012-13)
orchestra (17’)

I. ‘Night resonance recedes’
II. ‘Miracle, bird or golden handiwork’
III. ‘That gong-tormented sea’

The titles of the three linked tableaux that make up this piece come from the first, third and fifth stanzas respectively of W. B. Yeats' late poem Byzantium, which is rich in evocative and arcane imagery. While this provided the catalyst for the piece, the titles should not be taken as programmatic in a narrative or literal sense. Rather, in the symbolic spirit of Yeats, the music is a manifestation of the same concerns underlying the poem: a journey through a dark world of startling contrasts, visions of ecstasy and a deep yearning for permanence and transcendence.

First performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Grant Llewellyn on 23rd November 2012 at BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff