In 2016 Marco Bene contacted me about an exhibition of the work of Juan Muñoz he was curating in Lisbon, and the possibility of including A Man in a Room, Gambling in some way. We discussed it and exchanged emails. Eventually, in 2018 a compromise was reached and a recording of the piece was included, although our original conception was not realised, partly because of covid issues…

To my great surprise, at the beginning of this year I had an email, out of the blue, letting me know that he and his girlfriend Joanna were getting married, and that he had a proposal.

I don’t know if you remember me, but three or four years ago I contacted you to try (unsuccessfully) to perform A Man in a Room, Gambling at Zé dos Bois, Lisbon. Anyway, I am getting married in a field in Cuerres, Asturias on the 4th of June. We are going to celebrate the wedding in a small church between the sea and the mountains, a very special place. I’m contacting you because when Joana (my future wife) and I were thinking of the music for the church, you popped into my head. So I wanted to ask you, without any ambition, if perhaps you would like to spend a few days in a nice rural house in the area, next to the beach.  If this is not possible (which is understandable), we ask for your blessing as a Transcendent Satrap. Doing such a thing is not unlike a science of imaginary solutions.

The net effect is that I will fly to Northern Spain on June 3rd, and provide music for the wedding on June 4th, which happens to be my mother’s birthday. The church has no organ but Marco’s brother will rent a keyboard. And they thought to include one of their favourite pieces, my Two Love Songs setting Petrarch – originally for a trio of female voices or women’s choir. They have found a soprano,Vanessa del Riego, who will sing them, in new arrangements for soprano and keyboard. And, in addition, I will write short keyboard pieces for the brief interludes in the service.

Th structure of the service now looks like this;

1. Groom’s entrance (Love Song I)
2. Entrance of the bride (Love Song II)
3. Between readings 
4. After the exchange of wedding rings
5. After communion
6. When the bride and groom leave the church (Love Song I)

I don’t normally do this kind of thing….