Sally Beamish's Field of Stars receives its world premiere on June 29 at East Neuk Festival in Fife, Scotland. The work, for four string quartets (with each cellist doubling on crotales) will be performed by the Elias String Quartet, Pavel Haas Quartet, Castalian Quartet and the Belcea Quartet.
Beamish says of the work:
This piece is about pilgrimage. When my husband’s son returned from an extraordinary and transformative feat – running the Camino de Santiago de Compostela - he brought us the emblem of the pilgrimage – a scallop shell. I noticed that this same shell is the logo for the East Neuk Festival – referring to the pilgrimage made by many to St Andrews in Fife. The East Neuk Festival is host to a wealth of nationalities, who gather to make music together.
The work was commissioned as part of the festival's 20th anniversary celebrations.
