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Written for the pianist Clare Hammond (the Clara of the title), this collection of piano miniatures takes the form of a breviary, or miniature book of hours. There are twelve pieces in the complete set of Horae and they run as follows:
I:Trasparente (diaphanous)
II:Velocissima assai (as fleet as the tiniest humming bird)
III: Semplice
IV:Agilmente (maniaco ed instabile - with never-ceasing energy)
V:Diretto, ancora fluido (like the splash and suspension of water droplets)
VI:Nervoso, ma dolce (flessibile)
VII:Capriccioso
VIII:Ritmico (giusto) (like intertwining chime clocks) /Flessibile
IX:Capriccioso (impishly sardonic)
X:Scorrevole (ma meccanico) (like an 'evening full of the linnet's wings')
XI:Indolente (...lapping, with low sounds)
XII:Molto misterioso, desolate ('for now we see through a glass, darkly')
Each of the twelve piano pieces, lasting between two and four minutes, explores various compositional games and ideas which result in varying demands of skill from the performer. There is no direct programmatic element, but merely a distant resonance with the title allotted to each movement. Pieces share thematic material from across the complete set and may be performed together or in smaller groups. For example, pieces 1- 4 were written to form a unified musical arc, but it is my intention to leave the exact arrangement, number and selection of these pieces to the discretion of the performer. The performer may also link pieces together to form new connections (or discontinuities) between pieces.
KH.