Three Part Invention

The title of this piece, written in 2005 to a commission from the Hampstead & Highgate Festival, refers not only to the number of instrumental ‘parts’ involved (i.e. the violin and the two hands of the piano), but also to the fact that it is in three clearly defined sections which run continuously. The composer comments, "I consciously set out to try and obtain the maximum out of a deliberately limited amount of harmonic and melodic source material – thus everything that happens in the work grows out of the three ‘bell-like’ chords (each of which contains three notes) heard on the piano at the outset. This is followed by a brief ‘quasi-cadenza’ for the violin alone, a somewhat agitated moto perpetuo with a slower contrasting middle section and a final section of scherzando character. Over and above these technical concerns, however, my aim was to write a piece of great energy, challenging the stamina and virtuosity of both performers while remaining aurally coherent and grateful to play."