JSS Perspectives

Frankel, David

About the work

This piece was composed as an entry to the Daryl Runswick competition in March 2015.  The brief was to produce a work for mixed chamber ensemble, inspired by the work of the artist John Singer Sargent. The piece falls into four contrasting sections: an introduction, a waltz, a slower interlude and a finale. The waltz section was inspired by the numbers society portraits executed by the artist and the slower interlude was a response to the artists watercolour “Bedouins”. The unifying element in the composition is the motivic cell (C, Eb, Eb) derived from the letters J-S-S.  The piece was performed in the final of the competition at the National Portrait Gallery in March 2015.