Indris, revised
(2025)

Composer's notes:

'Indris' is a work for string trio which draws inspiration from the haunting call of the Indri lemur – a species of primate endemic to the eastern forests of Madagascar. Some local people believe the Indri to be a descendant of their close relatives and white settlers imagined the lemurs to be spirits; ‘lemures’ literally means ‘ghosts’ in Latin. Indeed, the extraordinary call does seem to be almost human-like in its emotional depth. Taking the call as a starting point, I fleshed out a sonata-form modelled on the sonatas of Mozart, with the call appearing at each of the important structural moments. I then inserted a chorale, itself derived from the Indri’s call, around and through the sonata form, mirroring its trajectory. The resulting work follows these different strands as they synthesise and separate fluidly, culminating in a searing climax. (the composer, 2021)

June 2025: I revisited 'Indris' for a concert in Hong Kong with the wonderful Momenta Quartet. I extended the chorale passages considerably, so that they break into polyphony and form a gentle, emotional climax of their own.

Duration: 9'

Instrumentation: Violin, Viola, Cello.

First Performance: Intimacy of Creativity, Premiere Concert in the Tea House Theatre of the Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong (09.06.2025).