ABLAZE THE MOON (2023)
for orchestra
Duration: 5 minutes
Commissioned by BBC Radio 3
First performed by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth, July 18th 2023 as part of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
‘ABLAZE THE MOON’ (2023) for orchestra is inspired by the poem ‘Tonight’ by the American lyric poet, Sara Teasdale (1884-1933). The melodies in the piece follow the lines of the poem, which are full of vivid descriptions and begin ‘The moon is a curving flower of gold, the sky is still and blue; The moon was made for the sky to hold, and I for you.’
In this short concert opener, the image of the moon as a flower of gold hanging in a dark sky is alluded to by atmospheric passages that begin in the circling woodwinds. These are contrasted with deep punctuations in the strings suggesting the vast darkness that surrounds it. These forceful interjections ignite the woodwinds to intersperse, fall, and spiral, momentarily accentuating the inky backdrop of the sky. The music drives forward through the expanse, with the horns and brass building the texture, until the piece opens out into an ethereal, and celestial space as ‘the sky is luminous; eternity was made for them, to-night for us.’ ©G.E.M.2023
©Cover Image: 'Moon Ablaze' Digital Painting by Grace-Evangeline Mason 2023
“Impressionist string phrases hovering over penumbral dissonances suggest moonlight in darkness. It’s quietly effective, and was beautifully done.”
“well-crafted”
“Sensuous and intriguing”
“atmospheric and expressive”
“for such a short piece it crystalises enormous textures into something that is entirely persuasive.”
“The curtain raiser was Grace-Evangeline Mason’s carefully coloured and cannily orchestrated Ablaze the Moon, a love poem with a starry dimension.”
“It was striking because of its eloquent melody and evocation of child-like joy. Subsequent experience has confirmed the impression that she writes music that immediately communicates, that is often about something, rather than abstract (and she’s not afraid to tell us that), and that it does what it says on the tin.
Her ABLAZE THE MOON, premiered by the BBC Philharmonic in the 2023 London Proms, was in the opening programme of their new season at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, conducted by John Storgårds. It’s written for a large orchestra and shows a mastery of complex textures and orchestral timbres – and it’s definitely about something: the image of the Moon conjured in a poem by the American writer Sara Teasdale. It even follows the poem line by line in its description of the Moon, as like a flower in a blue sky. The fundamentally tonal language is enhanced by a variety of orchestral effects, some far from traditional, and growing complexity through resonant brass-heavy chords contrasting with evocative wind and string writing.”
“With lush strings cocooning flowing woodwind lines, this five-minute evocation of love and the night sky has charm in spades. Woozy trombone glissandi and a delicate stippling of tuned percussion pierce an iridescent soundscape rich in nocturnal romance.”
“Premiered by the same orchestra at last year’s Proms, the Ablaze is a six-minute realisation of American poet Sara Teasdale’s 1930 poem Tonight. As an accompanying preamble immediately before Holst’s The Planets, it could scarcely have been more appropriate and here demanded to play the same role in the future. Mason uses an expansive, convincingly celestial canvas to depict Teasdale’s moon hanging in the night sky, with gleaming upper string playing neatly complemented by golden brass. Together with some evocative percussion effects – notably tam-tam played with wire brushes and bowed with a cello bow – made for cinematic music at its most graphic. This is a work I would gladly hear adopted into the repertoire.”