Wonderlawn Suite

In May 1994 I worked with the choreographer Laurie Booth on a full evening piece called Wonderlawn for which I employed a small group drawn from my ensemble consisting of electric guitar, viola, cello and double bass (the same line-up as the revised version of After the Requiem). The suite uses four of the original sections of the dance score, two of them being modified. The first movement is a prelude featuring the cello in dialogue with the viola. The second is a solo for amplified bass with effects pedals, shadowed by the cello. The melodic line in the third section is for electric guitar, playing without attack, accompanied by bowed strings. The final movement is an epilogue which starts out as a simple sequence of harmonies, arpeggiated by the guitar and reinforced by the other strings but which develops later into an extended melody for the viola.

Gavin Bryars.