A few evenings ago, my piece 'Let The Rain Kiss You' for trombone and electronics was performed by John Kenny in the Open Circuit Festival 2016, in Victoria Gallery and Museum, Liverpool. I was pleased that my piece was selected for the event and it was a really enjoyable concert.
‘Let The Rain Kiss You’ is a very short piece, which takes inspiration from the poem ‘April Rain Song’ by Langston Hughes. The electronics create an atmospheric landscape with reference to the rain that is the basis of the poem, whilst the trombone both merges and floats above the electronic texture. The structure of the poem relates to the fragmentary phrase construction of the trombone line by acting as an unspoken vocalization of the prose. I was pleased to find out that John knew the works of Langston Hughes and he was able to share with us his personal insight on the poet, which was a wonderful addition!
At the conclusion of the concert, which contained many exciting and vibrant works for electronics, the audience was asked to vote on the pieces and one was to be awarded the ‘Audience Prize’, which I was pleased to find out was awarded to ‘Let The Rain Kiss You.’ A wonderful evening! If you would like to hear John Kenny’s interpretation of the piece, it can be heard below:
