Based on Mozart’s Adagio for glass harmonica K617
for the New London Chamber Ensemble
When the New London Chamber Ensemble asked me to make an arrangement of this Mozart ‘Adagio’, I was much taken with the glass harmonica performances I found on Youtube! I wanted to try and capture some of the strange beauty of the instrument. I used cor anglais rather than oboe to give a warm, dark quality to the quintet - but didn't want to add anything of my own, as the music is so complete.
However, when I'd finished, I had the impulse to launch into a set of variations, and here I cast each of the five instruments in turn as a soloist, sometimes with a duo partner. The Adagio theme returns at the end, with each player adding a fragment from its own variation.
The piece was first performed at the Wigmore Hall, London, by the New London Chamber Ensemble, in July 2011.
Sally Beamish 2011
Premiere details
The piece was first performed at the Wigmore Hall, London, by the New London Chamber Ensemble, in July 2011.