Gone to Earth

€30.00

for violin, cello, and piano

7 minutes

Download includes pdf of score and parts. Download here.

first performed by Amatis Trio, St. Finian’s Church, Dublin, Ireland, October 2018

“The title (Gone to Earth), taken from Mary Webb’s novel of 1917, evokes issues of predation, pursuit, and refuge, its sexual politics recast in the materials at hand: the play of bow, gut, and wood – and rhythm. Han’s piano is partially prepared, with one note stopped to create a hollow, hammering sound, a rhythmic drive that punctuates the work, strange and alien, its rawness a violent incursion. Against this insistent drumming, the sustained string lines suggest a stillness and a vivid sense of space. Sensitively interpreted, the work creates a dynamic that could well be extended further” - Golden Plec

 

 

Program Note:

Gone to Earth is inspired by a novel of the same name, written in 1917 by Mary Webb. 'Gone to Earth' is also a term used in fox hunting, when the hunted fox has taken refuge, hidden from its predators. The plot of the book centres around one female character, Hazel, in the middle of the obsessed infatuation of two men. There is a supernatural backdrop to the plot represented in the mythological 'wild hunt' of the deathhounds, which encapsulates the theme of the book; predatory behaviour and men’s desire to take what they feel is their own. I was immediately drawn into the book, stunned that it was written in 1917, and angered that the notion of the predatory hunt and desire to control women is still very much a threat to women’s lives today. The musical material attempts to represent a propulsive chase followed by a respite and refuge.