Programme note:

The Moon, the moon!

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
            The moon,
            The moon!
They danced by the light of the moon.
                                                                        (E. Lear)

This piece is not a programmatic response to Lear's poem, but nevertheless his imagery of strange nocturnal songs and dances, of moonlight flickering on the water, of winged instrumentalists and al-fresco dining kept me company as I wrote the music. I wanted to write something fun, energetic, excited and full of life, a musical journey that delights in unexpected twists and turns. After a short introduction, there is a dance glistening with violin harmonics, which alternates with gruff, lopsided staccato figures in the brass. Following this, clouds of string pizzicati support a passionate oboe duet. A climactic tutti suddenly reveals an ornately decorated song, beginning in the flutes and then spreading through the strings, while a distant horn remembers the melody of the earlier dance. The register expands out from the flute trio until the opening sonority is regained and the piece gently ends.