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- Michael Blake Watkins
Wings Of Night
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Programme Note
Michael Blake Watkins: The Wings of Night
The Wings of Night won the Competition organised by the Society for the Promotion of New Music in order to provide the contemporary test piece for the 1976 Carl Flesch International Violin Competition.
The title is taken from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:
‘For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night,
Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back.’
The piece is cast in a single movement and constructed on four contrasting ideas: the floating, ethereal motif of the first; the violent, strident harmonies of the second; the lilting 6/8 rhythm of the third and finally, the more lyrical Aria. These ideas reappear throughout the piece, sometimes in different guises, yet always retaining their own distinctive character.
© Michael Blake Watkins
The Wings of Night won the Competition organised by the Society for the Promotion of New Music in order to provide the contemporary test piece for the 1976 Carl Flesch International Violin Competition.
The title is taken from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:
‘For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night,
Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back.’
The piece is cast in a single movement and constructed on four contrasting ideas: the floating, ethereal motif of the first; the violent, strident harmonies of the second; the lilting 6/8 rhythm of the third and finally, the more lyrical Aria. These ideas reappear throughout the piece, sometimes in different guises, yet always retaining their own distinctive character.
© Michael Blake Watkins