Winner BBC Proms Young Composer of the Year 2019;

‘The Sun’s Cycle waxes and wanes over the course of a year.

It reaches a peak at each Solstice, stops and begins a change in direction, which affects all life on Earth.

The Solstices are a time to stop, to look back on where the half yearly cycle has brought you, and to look forward to how you will use the developing energy.

At the Equinoxes, day and night are equal in length. The outer and inner worlds, light and dark, are equal and balanced. They provide an opportunity for us to work with this integration within ourselves.

The Earth’s Cycle of Celebration, Glennie Kindred

Composed by Maddy Chassar Hesketh

Performed by members of the Aurora Orchestra- August 2020 Duration- c. 5’

Programme Notes;

The Sun’s Cycle' waxes and wanes over the course of a year.

It reaches a peak at each Solstice, stops and begins a change in direction, which affects all life on Earth.

The Solstices are a time to stop, to look back on where the half yearly cycle has brought you, and to look forward to how you will use the developing energy.

At the Equinoxes, day and night are equal in length. The outer and inner worlds, light and dark, are equal and balanced.

They provide an opportunity for us to work with this integration within ourselves.

...

Winter Solstice (0.00)

The Light of the Sun flickers into life again after the long winter Life returns and the first flowers of Spring appear out of the frozen earth

Spring Equinox (1:50)

Day and Night are in perfect balance as the first day of spring arrives Fertility and the potency of the life force reaches its peak

Summer Solstice (3.10)

Mother Earth is expansive and organic growth is rife

The Summer’s peak brings the harvest, the sun king dances in the warm evening shadows

Autumn Equinox (4.22)

Day and night are in perfect balance, nature’s harvest is complete Nature prepares to rest and take shelter

I wanted to write a piece that celebrated the ebb & flow of sun during the seasons – leaving the listener contemplating the cyclical nature of life.

By appreciating the earth’s cyclical nature and realising how much it is at odds with the modern world’s linear way of thinking, I hope it will allow us all to make better, more environmentally friendly decisions in the future.

***

The shimmering timbre of the piano’s high register represents the energy of the sun as it brings nature to life. The electronic drones ebb & flow to represent the surges of growth and decay as each season peaks and fades. The Moon Bowl and Prayer Bell represent those sudden moments of seasonal change – which seem to appear suddenly after much anticipation. The shimmering gong and lower registered notes on the piano are designed to root us firmly to the earth – appreciating that this organic, life force, this miracle of creation, is ultimately our home.

Musical Influences

All the music is my own. But I love Debussy’s music and wanted to add something of his magic to the piece.

Bars 57 to 60 are an adaptation of the climax of Debussy’s piece, Little Shepherd (bars 16 to 19). I remember reading that Debussy wanted to capture the image of a shepherd sat on a hill looking out over a beautiful country scene in contemplation.

Whilst making the field recordings in Glastonbury, that you can hear on the piece, we walked to the top of the Tor and it immediately reminded me of the Debussy piece as I looked out over the Somerset levels. I decided to add these two chords to the piece!

I also discovered that the Tor has a 7 level labyrinth that runs up it. This gave me the idea of the 7/8 theme that appears three times during the piece. I wanted to give the piece a sense of climbing the Tor.

Love and Light,

Maddy. x