Together Apart

The Hagia Sophia suite is named after the great cathedral/mosque/museum in Istanbul, one with immense historical and religious significance. Hagia Sophia was built as a cathedral in the 6th century A.D. during the Byzantine Empire and was then converted to a Mosque in the 15th century when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. In 1935 it was converted to a museum, and in 2020, was converted back to a Mosque. These pieces reflect on this hugely significant building — a reservoir of memory, a place of contestation and a meeting place between Occident and Orient, of transcendence and immanence, that reflects on the profound complexities of the human condition that traverses time and culture. Musically this suite is characterised by the intricate interplay of the harp and guitar that demonstrates the beauties of these instruments and their power to invoke memory, place, story, darkness and light.

This suite is inspired by the many walks along Turimetta beach that my family and I did during the 2020 and 2021 lockdown periods. As we have a child with significant health issues, Turimetta was a safe haven for us, entertaining the kids and being revitalised by its natural beauty. The Turimetta suite comprises three movements based on three types of birds we’ve seen frequently on these visits — Hawk, Eagle and Heron.

Stormfront, for oud, viola and tabla, is characterised by a driving, odd-time signatured groove. It plays with the predictable unpredictability of a storm, the anticipation that comes with seeing dark clouds over the sea, an icon of the divine. The Red Candle is a meditative piece for solo oud. A symbol of presence, of mysteries made known in part, and a comfort beyond the pains of this life. Rosie's Dance is a folk dance composed for oud, cello, flute and tabla. It was co-written with flautist Katie Anderson and is dedicated to my niece. Alunir, for cello and oud duet, in French means to land on the moon. Written in the Lydian mode, this piece is rubato throughout, creating a sense of floating on the edge of the known.