Shall we dance?... was composed during my
postgraduate composition year at the RSAMD and premiered by members of the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The piece consists of a continuous suite of
short dances which are referred to in an Irish fairy tale by Sinead De Valera
The Power of Music. The story concerns a beautiful princess
whose life is ruled by her domineering parents. One day a young prince
appears and falls madly in love with her but they are never given the chance to
be alone. To solve this problem, a ball is organised with the prince as
principal guest, for as such he cannot be refused the first dance with the
princess...
The opening Fling is energetic with continuous play between simple
and compound time signatures. In the Geantraighe I use a
traditional tune Haste to the Wedding which is messed up by the entry of the
oboe! The quiet Suantraighe is followed by the Weeping
Song, featuring the oboe as a soloist. The works ends looking back
to earlier material.
It’s premiere by the SCO was recorded by BBC Scotland and
featured in a discussion on The Late Show The Road to Hoy. The piece has
been performed by the RSAMD, QUB and Paragon Ensembles in Glasgow and Iceland
and recently performed by the Degani Ensemble in St Ann's Church, Dublin.
Wilma Patterson, The Herald:
“..this attractive and entertaining suite of dances was
given an effective performance by Paragon which demonstrated an individual
personality.”
George Wilson, The Scotsman:
“At 25, Elaine Agnew has a distinctive voice and concise
style: deft strokes give clear pictures from heavy booted bacchanalia to
vaporous faerie. Shall we dance?... successfully
combined freedom with restraint.”
Michael Tumelty, the Herald:
“Elaine Agnew - an Irish lass and the newcomer - is a
sprightly girl who skipped onstage to take a bow after the performance of her
suite Shall we dance?... an engaging work for oboe and three
strings. Like Agnew herself, her composition is a lively
creature. A rhapsodic creation, the music demonstrates a talent for
melodic inventions (some lovely, long, pastoral roulades on the oboe), a neat
handling of folk idioms, and an inclination towards wit.” |
