I am not usually given to using evocative titles for my works, but in this case the material grew naturally from the sense of the title. The title in fact comes from a poem of John Clare called 'Evening' which I had considered setting as a song. I became less interested in the narrative aspect of the poem, feeling more for the underlying sense of transfiguration. It often seems that the ordinary things of the world can become magically transformed at certain points of the day, or in accordance with one's metabolism! For me, music can reflect that intensity or indeed be itself an agent of change and heightened sense.
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Opening pages
Performance: The Silent Hour
Saturday 13th May 2017
Evening recital - more details soon.
Clare Hammond, piano | Rochdale Music Society
Works: The Silent Hour
Performance: The Silent Hour (Burnaby Recital)
Friday 5th May 2017, 6.15pm
Clare Hammond, piano | Queen's Building Lecture Theatre, Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Works: The Silent Hour
Performance: The Silent Hour
Saturday 16th February 2008
Anthony Hewitt, piano | Victory Hall, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria
Works: The Silent Hour
Performamce: The Silent Hour
Monday 22nd March 2004
Alan Mills, piano | The Warehouse, London Southbank
Works: The Silent Hour
Performance: The Silent Hour
Wednesday 22nd October 2003
John Christopher Adams, piano | Carl-Orff-Auditorium, Munich
Works: The Silent Hour
World Premiere: The Silent Hour
Friday 22nd October 1999
Part of the Pianoworks Festival.
Stephen Coombs, piano | Blackheath Halls, London
Works: The Silent Hour