Browse Works
Additional Information
This work was written in 2007 for the flautist, Rachel Smith, and the euphonium player, John Storey, who gave the world premiere at the church of St Agnes and St Anne, Gresham Street, London that year with Clare Clements (piano).
The work is programmatic and follows Aesop's fable of the stolid, dependable tortoise and the whimsical, dreamy hare who enter into a race to see who is the fastest. The tortoise sets off, methodically plodding along, while the hare relaxes, confident that in a great burst of speed, it can overtake the tortoise any time it wishes. After capering about for a while, it stretches out on a grassy bank, daydreaming about its inevitable success and falls fast asleep. In the meantime, the tortoise plods all the way to the finish line while the hare, suddenly waking up, darts off in pursuit but too late.