1 Morrigan –
2 Aphrodite –
3 Diana

My Viola Concerto was commissioned by the Presteigne Festival, with funds from the Colwinston Charitable Trust.  Its second movement is partly based on ‘Goddess’, an earlier string orchestra work of mine composed in 2009, which has a prominent part for solo viola.  The Concerto is cast in three movements, played without a break, each being named after a different mythical Goddess.

Morrigan (Celtic), Warrior Queen, but also ‘earth mother’
Aphrodite (Greek), Goddess of sexual love and beauty
Diana (Roman), Goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and the moon

The music reflects the diverse ‘personalities’ of each Goddess – in turn compulsive, threatening, enigmatic, sensual and energetic, with the viola displaying its many and varied instrumental colours, often in virtuoso terms.

The concerto is bound together (both melodically and harmonically) by the angular theme heard at the outset, announced by solo viola, and by the three ‘responding’ major chords heard in the accompanying string orchestra which reappear throughout the work in varied form.

Edward Gregson