Fantastical Fragments

Fantastical Fragments combines sharply contrasted materials. Initially, a woodwind melody with a lively accompaniment from the ensemble is heard: this is then swiftly followed by a flourish leading down to the lowest registers of the ensemble, where the music takes on a far more sombre character. The remainder of the piece explores this musical paradox in various ways, juxtaposing and combining these lighter and darker elements with one another, which takes the music through numerous twist and turns in terms of mood and scoring.
Eventually this turbulent journey leads to a rather tense climax, where several of the musical ideas heard before are restated very emphatically indeed, before some of the energy accumulated throughout the piece is finally allowed to dissipate in a slower, more restful conclusion, during which motives from the body of the piece are recalled in a hazy fashion.
Fantastical Fragments was originally composed on and for the Britten-Pears Contemporary Composition course at Aldeburgh. The premiere was given by the ensemble resident on the course in Snape Maltings on 22 July 2011.
It was then later extended and revised for a performance the following June in the Aldeburgh Festival.