The Coming of Night
There are two versions of this piece: an Orchestral version and a version for Sextet (Flute, Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola and Cello). Recordings of both versions can be found below:
Duration: 6”00’
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and the BBC CO for BBC Radio 3's 'Capturing Twilight' series.
The Coming of Night (Sextet version) was premiered by members of the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Chloe Rooke on BBC Radio 3 Breakfast with Petroc Trelawny on October 25th 2021.
In 2024, The Manukau Symphony Orchestra (Auckland, New Zealand) commissioned an orchestral version of the piece (video below).
‘The Coming of Night’ is inspired by a poem by Emily Dickinson of the same title and it aims to explore the atmospheres, colours and images within her depiction of twilight and transition from sunset to night. The first lines of Dickinson's poem read:
"How the old mountains drip with sunset,
And the brake of dun!
How the hemlocks are tipped in tinsel
By the wizard sun!"
© Image copyright BBC Radio 3 & BBC Concert Orchestra