Lament of the Bow

This piece was written between November 1999 and March 2000 to a commission from the Contemporary Chamber Orchestra of Taipei and was premiered by that ensemble conducted by Lee Chun-Fung in Taipei on 4 April 2000. Its title is taken from the lament written by the Biblical King David on the death of his friend Jonathan. However, the piece has no further relationship to that particular story, but rather tries more generally to convey some of the emotions felt during grieving, as described by Sigmund Freud in his famous essay Mourning and Melancholia. 

The work divides into three broad sections which are preceded by an introduction that outlines the main ideas. The first major section is dominated by a questioning bass clarinet line, while the second oscillates between moments of repose and outburst of more violent material. The final section is processional in nature and gradually moves towards a reconciliation of the work’s various elements.

Philip Grange