'Recitative and Aria'

This work was written in 2024 and is dedicated to Cristian de Sá and John Lenehan who gave its world premiere at that year's Corvedale Festival. The form of Recitative and Aria is usually associated with vocal music – more specifically that of Opera and Oratorio. A formally structured section of music with a more a less steady tempo (the ‘Aria’) is preceded by a freer section, where the pacing of the music and the delivery of the words is more aligned to speech rhythm (the ‘Recitative’). The violin takes the part of the singer. The opening ‘Recitative’ is dramatic in feel while the following ‘Aria’ is often mysterious and contemplative in mood though it has a contrasting passage where the violin soars above a rather ‘jazzy’ accompaniment in the piano. The mysterious mood returns for the conclusion of the work.