Towards the Blue
(2010) for clarinet solo with wind quartet and string quartet
Duration: 13'
Commissioned by the Wigmore Hall to celebrate Michael Collins

Composer's Note:

During a visit to the exhibition of Francis Bacon at the Tate Gallery in December 2008 my eye fell on Figure in a Landscape, 1945 which resonated in me powerfully. It is a scene of devastation and despair, and also, it seemed to me, of latent anger and hostility….but above it all a serene blue sky beckons. So, perhaps even in the darkest moments there is a glimmer of hope – the possibility of change.

This idea became the starting point for this work – Towards the Blue – a mini concerto for clarinet, who eventually becomes the leader of the group. There is, therefore, no conductor.

The work starts without the clarinet and all is desolate, yet fiercely argumentative, discordant and uncomfortable. Suddenly the offstage clarinet is heard and the players in surprise are quietened. However, when the clarinet enters and approaches with a lyrical musical motive, some of the players respond, others resist. Gradually the clarinet persuades the dissident voices to join him in a spirit of co-operation and harmony.

A brief memory of the opening desolation casts a momentary shadow which is quickly dispelled by the coda which is marked Gioioso.

Seating clar vc              bsn     vla                                 hrn    vln II                                                ob   vln I                                                                   fl

Critical Acclaim:

He [Collins] inspires composers, too: for proof there was the world premiere of Thea Musgrave’s Towards the Blue, commissioned for the occasion. Aside from Collins’s robust finesse, Musgrave’s springboard was the Francis Bacon 1945 painting Figure in a Landscape, in which the figure survives as a grotesque smudge, glowering under a strip of bright blue sky. For the veteran Musgrave the sky equals hope; so does Collins’s clarinet, which starts offstage, then leaps in with perky flourishes, trying to soothe the crabby arguments of the other forces (four wind, four strings). Everyone reaches the blue by the end, even though given Musgrave’s engagingly emollient style the music is never far from blue to begin with. The 13-minute piece made a splendid diversion.
— Geoff Brown, London Times, 2 February 2011

Towards the Blue turned out to be the highlight of the evening, dramatic, well argued, you could tell the players enjoyed every minute. I’d love to hear this again - surely the litmus test of any new piece.
— www.openmagazine.co.uk, 28 January 2011
    Click to see full review

 

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