Composition lecturer enjoys London premiere

A piece by Dr Pedro Faria Gomes premiered at the London Symphony Orchestra’s Soundhub Showcase on Saturday 11 February.

Evening was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and composed for soprano and viola.

Based on a poem from Sunset in Naivasha by Khadambi Asalache (1935-2006), a Kenyan poet and author who lived in London for many years, Evening was performed at LSO St Luke's in a concert dedicated to works inspired by Khadambi's House - a house in Wandsworth, South London, with extraordinary fretwork decoration created by Asalache. The house is now a National Trust property.

Dr Faria Gomes explains the piece he wrote and the poem that inspired it: “Evening is an evocative and intriguing short poem by Khadambi Asalache. The text combines concise structure and aphoristic language with a stretched, unusually long sentence. Meaning is direct but also open. The lightness of the length contrasts with the weight of the content.

“Musically, I tried to capture what I understood to be the most essential qualities and character of the text – it is clear and transparent, reflective, human – as well as translate and explore its intriguingly opposing features.”

Evening by Dr Pedro Faria Gomes was performed at LSO St Luke's by Ziazan Horrocks-Hopayian (soprano) and Anna Bastow (viola).