Instrumentation: 3(III=picc).2.3(III=bcl).3(III=cbsn) - 4331 - perc(1): t.bells/glsp/2 oriental gong/3 wdbl/tpl.bl/tom-t/BD+foot ped - pno - harp - strings - reverberation unit + amplification (ad lib) or CD (ad lib) - solo percussion: mar/vib/2 balinese gamelan keyboards/8 tpl.bl/6 wdbl/mark tree

My percussion concerto was written for Evelyn Glennie and commissioned by the BBC for the Promenade Concerts 1997. It is a work in three movements, lasting some 25 minutes in all. In the first movement the two principle subjects are both canonic, with the soloist starting after the orchestra but in faster tempo, redistributing the accents and thus reinterpreting the melodic line as it goes. Eventually the soloist overtakes the orchestra and a new canon starts, with soloist leading. The second principle subject is underpinned with waltz accompaniments giving an even firmer foundation for the re-accentuation of the canonic echo. A scherzo section follows, with scoring reduced to solo vibraphone, piano and harp for the most part. This alternates with a slow movement idea: the two combine and form one of the few tutti climaxes to lead back to the waltz canon and finally to the primary canon, now entirely fragmented. The second movement is a slow one. It is built on eight chords played by the strings; chords connected by long, slurred glissandi - the harmony coming in and out of focus in a dream-like way, often coloured by the inharmonic beauty of the gamelans. The last movement follows without a break, prolonging the final, utterly peaceful chord of the slow movement in a softly shimmering light. The entire sound universe begins to vibrate, and continues to do so throughout much of the movement - this chord and its extension never changing. However, more and more slashes of energy are thrown across it: scalic figures in the harmonic fields used in the first movement flash through, also canons (again) and ostinati. Eventually the vibration becomes even faster, interspersed with loud, heavy pillars. The work is perhaps a study of the play of light - play being as important as light.
Jonathan Harvey