Work

Programme Note

The inscription on the north face of a sundial in the garden of Inverleith Park, Edinburgh, reads ‘I number none but sunny hours’. On the south side it says, ‘So passes life. Alas! How swift’.

The music of Alas! How Swift is fast, with a constant speed of 138 beats per minute. Around this constant, underlying tempo, however the speed sometimes quickens and sometimes slows. Even the moments of relaxation are underpinned and, perhaps, ruffled by persistent movement. The impetus for the music comes from fast repeated notes on the solo trumpet. The energy engulfs the whole orchestra.

Notes taken from Cresswell: The Voice Inside, NAXOS 8.570824

Commissioned:

Commissioned by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

• New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Performance History

	12 May 2007	Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Michael Kirgan (trumpet), conducted by Jaap van Zweden
		New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
	19 May 2007	Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Michael Kirgan (trumpet), conducted by Jaap van Zweden
		New Zealand Symphony Orchestra