Voices Go With You (2022)
for flute, cello, percussion & piano
Voices Go With You unfolds as a tone poem in which a still, serene landscape is disrupted by restlessness and unease. States of calm and agitation coexist, negotiating a fragile balance as something darker remains concealed beneath the surface.
The work reflects on the shared ritual of concert-going: the transition from the private interior to the collective space of the auditorium, and the roles assumed by performers and audience alike. While the musicians may move — even dance — the audience remains still, bound to the measured time of the music. The piece asks how such conditions arise, and what tensions they quietly contain.
Based on lines from Salt, a recent collection of poems by David Harsent, Voices Go With You is a commemorative work written both for the ensemble Psappha and for Tim Williams, who stepped down as the ensemble’s director after thirty years at the end of the 2021–22 season.
Performance / Recording
Performed by Psappha:
Conrad Marshall (flute), Jennifer Langridge (cello), Tim Williams (percussion), Benjamin Powell (piano).
Recorded live at Hallé St Peter’s, Manchester (UK), on 12 May 2022.
Film production by Handel Productions.
Audio recording and mastering by Rob Kelledy.
Film produced and edited by Tim Williams.