Highland composer Alasdair Nicolson's String Quartet No. 3 (Slanting Rain) was premiered by The Edinburgh Quartet on Thu 12th November 2015 in the University Concert Hall. The piece, consisting of 6 short movements, draws on the work of Portugese author Ferdinand Pessoa and the Gaelic song tradition and is dedicated to the composer's mother.
The final movement of Slanting Rain - ‘into an abyss made of time’
Watch the final movement of Slanting Rain - 'into an abyss made of time'
Listen to… the Slanting Rain premiere
Programme note
Alasdair Nicolson (b. 1961) - String Quartet No. 3 (Slanting Rain)
1. a false moon shines
2. the shadow ends without having been
3. waving trees, rising sea, eerie stillness
4. impossibly distant tree-lined paths
5. I come to the window to see who’s singing
6. into an abyss made of time
Like my previous quartet, some of the inspiration for this work came from a favourite writer’s poetry, namely the Portuguese author Ferdinand Pessoa; the title of the quartet is also the title of a collection of Pessoa’s poetry. The epigrammatic titles that appear for each short movement are lines from within this writer’s poetry and, though not intended to be programmatic, are evocations of mood and hints of atmospheres without a particular narrative thread.
In constructing this quartet I was drawn to another source common to my music, that of the Gaelic song tradition and in particular here the old song O, ‘s tu, ‘s gura tu th’air m’aire (Oh, it’s you who are on my mind) – a song of loss whose sentiments are close to those of the Pessoa. Much of the musical material for the work is taken from this Gaelic melody and on a few occasions it comes to the surface with its rising upturned triadic shape.
The quartet is dedicated to the memory of my mother who passed away in late 2014 and who was no stranger to slanting rain.
Alasdair Nicolson 2015
Performer biographies & full details of the Slanting Rain premiere can be found in the McEwen concert programme 2015.
Alasdair Nicolson
Alasdair Nicolson was born in Inverness and brought up on the Isle of Skye and the Black Isle. He studied at Edinburgh University and later became Shaw McFie Lang Fellow there working in composition and music theatre. Whilst his first commissons came immediately after he finished his studies, he began his career by combining composition with work in theatre and opera as musical director, conductor and repetiteur. It was in the late 80s and early 90s that he came to wider attention as winner of the IBM Composers' Prize and, following this success, he received commissions from the UK and abroad. Nicolson has gone on to work with some of the world's best orchestras, ensembles and soloists. His music is widely performed and broadcast and it has won critical acclaim for its clarity, craftsmanship and individuality. He is now regarded as one of Scotland's foremost composers. As well as his compositional work Alasdair has been involved with many organisations as a creative producer. He is currently Artistic Director of the St Magnus International Festival and Director of the St Magnus Composers' Course as well as being Artistic Director of his own ensemble The Assembly Project. He is currently working as a curator for one of SCOT:lands for Edinburgh's Hogmanay. Previously he has worked as Artistic Director of Bath International Music Festival, Sound Inventors, Northlands Festival and Platform Festival.