The Water 1989

Fisher, Aidan

About the work

The piece was commissioned by the East London Late Starters Orchestra, and refers to a traditional Somerset rhyme, “O Waly, Waly”: The water is wide, I cannot get o’er, and neither have I wings to fly. Give me a boat that will carry two, and both shall row my love and I. A ship there is and she sails the sea. She’s loaded deep as deep can be, But not so deep as the love I’m in; I know not if I sink or swim.

First Performance: ELLSO 1989

Technical notes

The two flute parts may be played by clarinets or soprano saxes. The piece contains parts at different levels of difficulty. For instance, the 3rd violin part is mostly open strings, whereas the 1st violin part uses third position.