This piece was inspired by the poem ‘Summer in England, 1914’ by Alice Meynell. The wonderful summer of 1914, a season of seemingly unprecedented loveliness, was a cruel irony for someone with a loved one engulfed in the horrors of the front line. It could only be borne as a symbol of a greater, spiritual, beauty.
Sustained quiet playing is required, and all the instruments have solo material. The piece is contrapuntal with modal inflections, with the harmonies deriving from the movement of the melodic lines.