The work’s source of inspiration is a haiku by Kitamura Kigin. The main influence is the idea that spoken words and thoughts don’t always correspond. Although thoughts can be continuous and coherent, speech can often be fragmented and incomplete. This juxtaposition is reflected in the organisation of the melodic material in sections where phrases are either interrupted by rests (first and third section) or flowing uninterrupted (middle section). Despite the contrast between sections, the work is characterised by a lack of strong dramatic or climactic gestures, an idea that is in keeping with the poem’s inward, self-contained character.
First performance: 24 October 2012, St Gregory’s Centre for Music, Canterbury, Stelios Chatziiosifidis.