Lily Relay

Dear reader,

Thank you for your interest in my music! Lily Relay is my first commissioned work. I was terribly excited when Zsolt Bognár, whose show Living the Classical Life I had been listening to for hours on end, contacted me out of the blue. The idea was to write a short piece for oboe (I later suggested cor anglais) and piano that would have something to do with the theme of rebirth.

Since water lilies are a symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt and in Buddhism (due to the cyclic way they emerge from and retrieve into the water) I chose to elaborate on this idea of recurring blossoming: The first movement represents a type of water lily called Nymphaea Lotus which blossoms in the night while the second movement represents a type of water lily called Nymphaea Caerulea which blossoms during the day. The way these two plants take turns bringing beauty to the world reminded me of runners handing over their baton in a Relay race, hence the title. I tried to underline this idea musically by using the piano's low register and the cor anglais' high register in the first movement and then "swapping" registers for the second movement.

Zsolt also wished for a musical quote to be included in this piece. Tricky! I've never done something like this before because it interrupts my free-flowing ideas but I enjoyed the challenge. The theme of the night and the intimate atmosphere of the first movement made me think of Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune. But what part could I integrate? Where? For how long? I don't believe there is a point in quoting great music if the audience will not recognize it. At the same time you want to avoid taking something too obvious that turns your piece into a comedy act...

I hope you will enjoy listening to and performing Lily Relay. Also, if you have any feedback or questions, please write to me! I'd love to be in touch!