A Himalaya Concerto

Considered by the music director of the Bath Philharmonia (UK) to be a work of "considerable merit", this remarkable and well-crafted concerto challenges conventional wisdom concerning what the clarinet is able to say as an instrument, making very effective use of melodic glissandi. Cinematic in character, it is supremely evocative of mountain mist and cloudscapes. The music of the first two movements is in turns light-hearted, moody, darkly brooding, terrifying and emotional, while the music of the third movement is mantra-like and exuberant, with a central section that pays homage to the many people whose lives were affected or cut short by the Nepal earthquakes of 2015. This is a truly significant work, both challenging and rewarding to play, not only for the clarinettist but also for many other players in the orchestra. The composer introduces the cimbalom, whose delicate timbre completes the almost unique sound world of this concerto. The work was written in late 2015 for the Welsh clarinettist Idris Harries (now resident in Australia), who confirms that the solo part, for all its apparent complexity, is genuinely playable. The composer would like to express his appreciation of the advice received from Idris Harries (clarinet, Australia), Gregory Knowles (cimbalom, England) and Andre Bonetti (cimbalom, Australia) during the composition of this work.