Elegy
for Violin and Piano
Elegy was composed in 2007, a gift to my wife Cathy, in memory of her much loved Grandmother Edith who passed away in February of that year.
The music was intended only as an outpouring of love and sorrow, and it struck me only later, some years after Cathy and I had performed it many times, that the relationship between the violin and the piano somehow paralleled that of the grandchild and grandparent: the violin first leading and directing the piano, as a child might be guided by an adult; but later the roles reversed as piano leads violin - the adult becoming increasingly dependent on the child. There follows a moment of crisis - then there is peace. The imagery of the final section I did have clearly in mind at the time of composing, as that of a soul freed from pain and suffering, and able to dance once more.
Listen on SoundCloud: Cathy Scott-Burt - violin, NSB - piano
