Ariel

Ariel is scored for basset clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and is a response to the poem of the same name by Sylvia Plath. Simpson reacted to the poem musically, jotting down the ideas for instrumental combinations, as well as the emotional content as he read the words.

The piece begins, (‘Stasis in darkness…’) and gradually wakens up to a furious outburst in all the instruments. Scales descend to the depths of the instruments’ ranges, out of which a slow, winding duet for basset clarinet and cello leads to the centre of the work – a slow, calm three-chord chorale. The work then comes to a stand-still where short outbursts are gradually transformed into new, faster material.

The three-chord chorale motif then goes through a number of permutations until a recap of the opening’s outburst is quickly side-lined by a boldly expressive return of the chorale motif. This piece is about extremes – extremes of expression, of instrumental textures and capabilities.