underpaintings (2005)

underpaintings is one of a series of works in which I explore various aspects of painting techniques. An underpainting is the initial layer the artist makes as a guide for the subsequent layers. In other works, I have used a musical underpainting which is later 'painted' over with other material, often to the extent that it is no longer audible, but remains in essence - it colours the surface.
In underpaintings, I have made a piece that is stripped of those additional layers - a move towards simplicity. In a sense, there are four simultaneous underpaintings - the work is for clarinet, violin, cello and piano - each instrument outlines a version of the same overall shape.

The first performance was given by Radius at the Wigmore Hall, London, 20 April 2007.

instrumentation: clarinet in Bb, violin, violoncello, piano
duration: 8 minutes ~
first performance: Charys Green, clarinet; Daniel Rowland, violin; Oliver Coates, cello; John Reid, piano

Score and parts available to order