CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WITH SOLOIST
Solo Violin with String Orchestra (min. 5*4*3*2*1)

Duration: ca. 15 minutes
Composed: 2024

Programme Note:
Found in Lostness was commissioned by Les Violons du Roy for violinist Kerson Leong. It is a single movement concerto that explores being lost. This can be in the spiritual or physical sense. Being lost can be painful and unsettling, but it can also open the way to discovery. Kierkegaard might say that to be lost is to open up a real “dizziness of freedom”. Being lost is both a struggle and an opportunity for growth.

The piece begins with an expressive bass solo.  The rest of the strings join in, creating a texture on haunting, high, fragile harmonics.  From this the solo violin emerges with a tentative, almost plaintive sound.  The texture thickens and the activity builds, leading to a fast theme that contemplates the unease of being lost.  The world is not of our own making, yet we try to make connections and understand our surroundings.  There is a return to the plaintive sense of loss in the slow middle section.  A string quartet is formed as the melodic cells of the solo violin are imitated by the principals. The fast music returns, becoming more urgent and intense.  The soloist has a long, accelerating line that builds to a high, loud climax.  The piece ends with enigmatic slow music, questioning the value of what has been found.

I am extremely grateful to my champions, Nicolas Ellis, Kerson Leong, and Laurent Patenaude, for inviting me to create this piece.  

First performance by Kerson Leong and Les Violons du Roy, Nicolas Ellis, conductor;
February 12, 2025, Quebec City; February 14, 2025, Montreal.