Commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Stockholm Philharmonic and premiered in Februray 2023 at Symphony Hall by the CBSO conducted by Ilan Volkov.
Insturmentation: 2,2,2,2 / 4,2,2,0 / timp, 2 perc/ harp / strings
In many old folk tales from the British Isles, there’s often a hidden horror waiting to be revealed. As you start to read the story you know this darkness will appear somewhere, often connected to the landscape or earth, sometimes within a character or even the narrator - but until it is revealed, the demon is potentially anywhere or everywhere.
This is a piece with a demon simmering away within it. Sometimes menacing, sometimes playful, it’s a speed demon; a moto perpetuo, with a constant energy in the depths that rises up to the surface.