Through Magic Casements

The title of this work is a reference to the poem Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats. Important images from the poem are freely connected to suggest musical gestures and contours. Such phrases as "perilous seas" and "plaintive anthem" placed musically alongside each other give the work a continuity not suggested by the original poem. The topography in the last verse of the poem also finds its way into the work: Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep The resulting work therefore utilises an organic and associative musical form, one that is dramatic and often capricious in nature. The work evaporates at its close - at Keats' instigation - through the words "Fled is that music:- do I wake or sleep?". Through Magic Casements was written for William Cale on the occasion of his final recital at the Royal College of Music. © 2009 KH