By:

• Jonathan Besser

Duration:

10' 00"

Instrumentation:

(1)2.2.2.2.; 2.2.2.0.; timp., perc. (1), hp, harpsichord; strings (8.8.6.5.3.)

Availability

• This work has 2 scores

Programme Note

This piece for orchestra was composed while I was staying in New York in September 1999, rising very early in the morning to quietly play piano and compose.

I had heard of my friend John Thomson’s death the week before, while in London. The music I began to ‘sketch’ in those northern mornings was simple and reflective. I finished composing the piece in New Zealand, dedicating the work to John Thomson; deciding too incorporate ornamentation and harpsichord into the music.

My intension was to create a non-dramatic piece, that explored the orchestra’s quieter qualities.

Jonathan Besser

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Dedication:

In memory of John M. Thomson

• John Mansfield Thomson

Related Works

Awards

• Douglas Lilburn Prize (2000)
  

  Predawn Meditation , for orchestra by Jonathan Besser, finalist in the Douglas Lilburn Prize 2000 (then called Music Prize 2000)