w21167
| Title | Leave to Live |
| Contributors |
John Gourlay (composer) |
| Composition date | 2020 |
| Duration (mins) | 10 |
| Category | instrumental solo |
| Instrumentation | S-Sax |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | 06 02 2020 John Gourlay Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | In the spring of 2019 the composer was taken ill with a subdural haematoma. Thanks to quick-witted and on-the-ball GP and to the nursing and surgical staff at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, the condition was dealt with successfully. Lying in bed after the operation (a mini-craniotomy) the composer conceived this piece as a way of marking his deliverance and recovery from his first serious illness and as a way of expressing gratitude for the outcome. Consequently the piece is dedicated to the above medical staff and in general to NHS Scotland. Although the piece is not a musical portrayal of events, there are references to the onset of haematoma, the craniotomy and an MRS scan (in itself a very sonic experience). The solo saxophone part is sometimes written to be played 'in tempo', sometimes 'senza miser'. Some passages are written in skeleton form and are intended to be elaborated by ornamentation and/or improvisation. The backing was devised using Garageband software. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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