Piano
SKU:
HL.14042937
Composed
by Anthony Gilbert. Music
Sales America. Softcover.
University of York Music
Press #M570364725.
Published by University
of York Music Press
(HL.14042937).
Monsoon Toccata
by Anthony Gilbert. 3'33;
for solo piano. In
memoriam Janet Owen
Thomas (1961-2002). In
1988, Janet Owen Thomas
met up with me in Sydney
at the end of a short
organ-recital tour -
possibly her last before
devoting herself entirely
to composing. We returned
to England together,
doing a rapid circular
tour of Northern India on
the way. Alighting from
the plane at Delhi we
were hit by the whirling
wind and torrential rain
of the seasonal monsoon,
and early the following
morning there was also a
minor earthquake. This
experience determined the
spirit of the music, and
Northern Indian Raga
determines the purely
technical approach, with
thequasi-improvisatory
toccatalike textures
acting as decoration to a
slow-moving,
widely-spaced modal top
line which almost loses
control of the overall
shape at the mid-point -
a reflection of the
impact of those natural
phenomena. A.G.
Monsoon
Toccata by
Anthony Gilbert. 3'33';
for solo piano. In
memoriam Janet Owen
Thomas
(1961-2002).
'In
1988, Janet Owen Thomas
met up with me in Sydney
at the end of a short
organ-recital tour -
possibly her last before
devoting herself entirely
to composing. We returned
to England together,
doing a rapid circular
tour of Northern India on
the way. Alighting from
the plane at Delhi we
were hit by the whirling
wind and torrential rain
of the seasonal monsoon,
and early the following
morning there was also a
minor
earthquake.
This
experience determined the
spirit of the music, and
Northern Indian Raga
determines the purely
technical approach,
withthe
quasi-improvisatory
toccatalike textures
acting as decoration to a
slow-moving,
widely-spaced modal top
line which almost loses
control of the overall
shape at the mid-point -
a reflection of the
impact of those natural
phenomena.'
A.G.
Monsoon
