Elegy for solo viola
James Aikman
About this work:
To describe the "musical processes" used in creating Elegy would be mechanical and injust. It would not account for the powerful spiritual and emotive reasons which led me to its invention. Music is more than the simple adherence to procedures and "game plans." Far too often, works are defined and set upon such elaborate verbal pedestals that the listener is ultimately disappointed after finally hearing the actual music. Do works really stand or fall purely on the basis of their ability to be defended or rationalized by some set of predestined rules which governed their creation? I can always tell when methods are the cause of "inspiration." Music and the reasons for its composition are multifaceted phenomena seemingly limited by lexical attempts of explanation and justification.
Year composed: 2008
Duration: 00:07:00
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: lyric work, poignant, rich