Dark Angels - Concert Suite

Year Composed:	2019
Instrumentation:	2*22*1+cbsn/4.2.3.1/timp+2 perc/strings
Duration	16 minutes

Program Notes

I had the immense privilege of collaborating with choreographer Guillaume Cote on two ballets: Le Petit Prince (2016), a full-length production commissioned by the National Ballet of Canada, and Dark Angels (2017), a half-hour ballet commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra for their Encount3rs project. The latter was conceived as the near-polar opposite of the former. Where the music of Le Petit Prince, inspired by Saint-Exupéry's fable, is predominantly lyrical and expansive, Dark Angels is taut, severe, at times brimming with explosive rage. It is also classically (rather than narratively) constructed, recalling the tradition of the symphony in scope and form.

This concert suite, which abridges the original score from twenty-seven to sixteen minutes, clarifies the original's three-part structure while preserving its steely core. A stormy Allegro is followed by a moment of respite in the form of an elegiac cello solo. The moment is short-lived; a nightmarish vista engulfs the increasingly desperate strains of the cello, paving the way for a finale steeped in savage, ritualistic gestures and propelled by a battery of explosive percussion. A six-note rhythmic 'hammer' weaves its way through the score like an iron thread.

While composing this work, I came across a version of the Medusa myth (by the Roman poet Ovid) that haunted me while profoundly influencing the musical shape that Dark Angels would assume. In Ovid's account, Medusa was once a priestess of Athena, who is raped by the god Poseidon. As punishment for defiling her temple, Athena transforms Medusa into the monstrous figure of familiar legend; the sight of her face (crowned by a head of serpents) turns the onlooker into stone. Although Dark Angels was intended as a non-programmatic work, in retrospect, its pages bear the scars of Medusa's transformation, and the bitter metaphors associated with her suffering.

Sheet Music

• Score & parts available for rental here.

Performances

• October 3, 2019 - National Arts Centre Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Shelley. National Arts Centre, Ottawa
• February 2, 2020 - Niagara Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bradley Thachuk. FirstOntario Place, St. Catharines

Commissions and Awards

• Commissioned by the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Reviews

• "Lau’s growling, sepulchral composition made a favourable impression on its first hearing more than two years ago. A second outing, this time on stage instead of in the pit, provided even more to admire. The piece stands perfectly well on its own. In fact, without needing to compete for attention with Guillaume Côté’s daring choreography, Lau’s gifts for structure, subtle thematic development and rich, atmospheric orchestration were brought into clearer focus. A highlight is still the extended cello solo, played with gripping urgency of expression by Mercer — for whom Lau has written a concerto of her very own." - Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile