The quiet understatement of Curtain of Light, composed in memory of the composer’s mother, demonstrated too his [Souster’s] ability to alight upon simple, striking images: a remembrance here of Silent Night, arising from the electronic modulation, is a most telling climax.
- Andrew Clements, Financial Times 28 June 1984
Curtain of Light is a quiet meditative piece in which both the soloist and the tape part explore a wide range of metal percussion sounds, from small high-pitched bells and whisper chimes to deep sonorous tam-tams, accompanied by changing levels of light. The tape-part re-inforces and extends the live sounds and also introduces some synthesised bell sounds in the middle of the piece.
The piece was written in 1984 and dedicated to the memory of the composer’s mother.
Curtain of Light was first performed by Elizabeth Davis at the Almeida Theatre, Islington, London on 26 June 1984.
Commissioned by Elizabeth Davis.
