I. “Prelude” An opening incantation featuring the basset horn. Our violinist and cellist initially stick stubbornly to a choral procession, animated by jiggetring repeating tones, while our basset hornist travels further afield. A turning point is found half-way through this composition, when the basset horn writing morphs into an almost Schubertian accompaniment for a yearning melody in the violin.

II. “Proton Emission Tomography” Yet another moto-perpetuo composition in the vein of earlier works of mine like “Mycilium Superhighway” and “Cataclysmic Hypervirtuosity in perpetual motion”, but our fleet-footed Bb clarinet has been replaced by a lumbering bass clarinet. This trio is more substantial than the others, and is a serious challenge for the performers throughout. The title refers to a “PET Scan”, which is an ever-present looming force for anyone living with stage-4 cancer. Waiting and hoping for positive results from these quarterly scans is now a new emotional bottle-neck for our household.

III. “For Morton” Another work featuring this basset horn, this time exploring the instrument’s unique potential for haunting multiphonics. The opening and closing sections are inspired by my fascination with Morton Feldman’s epic late works, such as piano and string quartet and violin and string quartet. Strangely, the middle section includes a veiled reference to Puccini’s La Boheme.

IV. “For G.L.” Starting with a vague nod to Gyorgy Ligeti’s clouds music, this oscillating work is built on a rising 4-note scale. This simple idea grows from a tool to create shimmering clusters to a full-fledged melody. As with the “Prelude” above, the forth trio of this set evolves into another neo-schubert fever-dream.

V. “Coda” A short closing number, based on shifting 5-note chords, and metric restlessness.