Soundtracks

Fusional Fragments – a new ballet

October 18, 2012

I had the very great pleasure of working with a great choreographer and friend of mine Marc Brew, and his astounding company, along with my favourite percussionist Evelyn Glennie when we devised ‘Fusional Fragments’ – a new ballet scored by Evelyn and myself.

The show was premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Cultural Olympiad to a packed and happily raucous house. The event was filmed and the staging was all the more extraordinary due to Evelyn appearing onstage within the dance. Having worked with Evelyn extensively over the last couple of years, I’m constantly amazed at her willingness to just get stuck in to everything she does. Need I mention her leading the field of drummers at the 2012 Olympic Opening ceremony..?!

We’ve just performed together at the National Museum of Scotland along with the extraordinary artist Maria Rud. More on this soon…

In the meantime, here’s something I wrote (not music!) that was an initial sketch for the ballet above. Forgive my English (believe it or not it is my first language…).

Fractured Darkness

In a dark, broken dream,

Half-remembered dances spin from the ether.

Something is submerged

The old music box pulled from a Venetian canal

Plays a forgotten lovesong.

Footsteps amongst the ruins as

Fractured toys play a

Clockwork aria half-drowned

And yet the song survives.

Now a waltz

Amongst the shards of glass

Light flickers from the mirror

As the candles sputter in the gust

In this dark, broken dream,

I sing though my voice is rust

My body is rooted to the tiles of the floor

as the rain falls through the shattered rafters

A jolt…

And, yet another.

There is a way back.

This is only a dream

I am alive though I cannot ever wake

In this dark, broken dream,

I sing though my voice is rust.

I step amongst the glass

And settle with the dust.

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