A Walk
Into War
The
cream of Britain's classical artists came together
for the first performance of Michael's A Walk
Into War at the Salisbury International Arts
Festival in June 2002. The Allegri String Quartet,
joined by internationally acclaimed tenor Paul Agnew
and the exceptional young pianist Daniel Tong, premièred
a work inspired by one of Britain's best loved authors,
Laurie Lee.
With their
50-year history, this most established of string
quartets together with guest artist Paul Agnew as
the young Laurie Lee proved beyond doubt to be tremendous
advocates of this evocative new work. The 9-movement
piece is based on two books of Laurie Lee, As I
Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of
War. The new work follows the travels of Laurie
Lee from his Gloucestershire home to London where
he 'sniffed the first sweet smell of revolution.'
His epic journey through Spain forms the central
portion of this new work and by the time he reached
the South the ominous signs of the forthcoming Spanish
Civil War were clearly evident.
Michael
said of the work: 'The challenge of the new work
has been to reflect the many different features
and styles within these wonderful books, the 'Englishness'
of the early chapters, the youth and energy of his
long walk through Spain, and the underlying menace
of this most desolate of wars. To assist me with
this I have made various musical references, some
of works premiered in the years that Laurie Lee
travelled, and some structures of the various regions
of Spain. But uppermost is the story itself.'
This is
the second collaboration between the Allegri Quartet
and Michael since the ensemble toured his String
Quartet No. 1 (Robben Island) following its premiere
in 2000. Certainly, the collaboration between composer
and quartet is one which has become firmly established
over the past few years. Peter Carter (leader) says
of Michael's work, 'It is unusual in the 21st century
to find new music that appeals so directly to the
emotions of the chamber music public. Audience reaction
to our performances of his work have been uniformly
enthusiastic'.
Also in
the programme with the première of A Walk
Into War for tenor and piano quintet was one of
Vaughan Williams's most established works, On Wenlock
Edge.
View
programme notes & text
