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Michael
said of his research into the works and
personal correspondence of Dylan Thomas,
'Immediately the striking elements emerged;
the controversy of his character, the
poverty, alcoholism, the extraordinary
relationship with his wife Caitlin, America,
and of course the remarkable ability to
write and speak so astutely and evocatively.
The song cycle takes many of these components
to give a chronological account of Dylan
Thomas's life.'
The
commission of this new work from Michael
is in response to the success of his last
work for solo harp premièred to
a capacity audience at the Purcell Room
in 2001 by Sioned Williams, Principal
harp of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Such
was the critical acclaim for the piece
and the demand for subsequent playings
that a further collaboration was appropriate.
The
performance at Brangwyn Hall on November
3rd was part of festivities presented
by the Dylan Thomas Festival in Swansea
all year but culminating in a pinnacle
of celebrations in November, the month
of Thomas's anniversary.
Programmed
alongside the Stimpson première
were works by Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott
with his arrangement of Six Welsh Folk
Songs, harp solos by Queen Victoria's
harpist, John Thomas, and Schumann's 'Hebrew
Melodies' Op. 95, performed in the original
and rarely heard version with harp accompaniment.
John Thomas prefaced his three harp solos
with words by Byron, and words by this
same poet were also the inspiration for
Schumman.
The
concerts encompassed a wide spectrum of
artistic expression; poems, spoken word
and recitation of literary masters; the
evocative settings of texts to song, and
the première of a visionary contemporary
work for harp.
See
the critical comment on the work on the
reviews page of this site.
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