Beschreibung
This work was begun in late 2006 and was completed in mid-January 2007 as an affectionate tribute to the composer and string player Geoffrey Kimpton, whose 80th birthday fell in 2007. The piece opens with an alphabet series AGEE[in alt.]FFRD[ré], to read a Geoffré, together with the remaining notes of the serial row. An antique-sounding tune is then played, and after another short serial passage, a melody from Geoffrey's own setting of A Birthday by Christina Rossetti is stated. The two tunes are then developed before another short serial bridge to a compressed recapitulation leads to a tonal coda on the opening notes.
The composer would like to thank David Beck for his advice on certain string-playing technicalities.
The piece was first publicly performed on September 27th 2008 at Cross Street Chapel, Manchester by David Beck [violin] and Geoffrey Kimpton [viola].