w19149
| Title | Train to Nowhere, The |
| Contributors |
Claire McCue (composer) |
| Composition date | 2010 2010 |
| Duration (mins) | 0 |
| Category | chamber duo |
| Instrumentation | Vc Pf |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | On a freezing, snowy Friday in January this year, I was on a train going to London to meet some friends. The train was delayed initially and then set off. Whilst travelling, I was thinking about this piece, which I had started previously with no particular idea in mind. I felt that the opening suited the motion of being on a train quite well. About an hour into the journey, we were stopped, then moving slowly, then diverted, then back on track for a while then stuck indefinitely in a queue of six other trains, behind a broken down train. After a long wait, it was announced that the line was being closed and our train was sent back to Glasgow. I basically spent 3 hours on a train and went nowhere. This piece then became a reflection of the journey, its stops and starts, moving but not really getting anywhere. Eventually, towards the end, the reprise of the opening material, in reverse, reflects the turnaround and return to Glasgow, which was the first time that the train actually picked up any real speed. In the final section, the acceleration should be taken to the very end of the ascending sequence, so that the last few bars of this are played as quickly as possible. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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