The Piece
The composition is based on part of Branwen's story from the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales, in which a group of warriors, lately returned from Ireland, feast in Harlech for seven years with the severed head of their leader, Bendigeidfran, at the head of the table. They then feast in Penfro for eight years in a hall with three doors and only remember the dreadful events that happened in Ireland when the third door opens. The cheerful feasting is represented by a quotation of a Welsh folk tune. Each of the three doors in Penfro was represented by an instrument (trumpet, clarinet, violin) in a box in the Royal Albert Hall. The piece has a mixture of frantic, rhythmical sections and sections of "black-magical stasis". The piece uses novel sound combinations and effects: the opening of the first door is depicted with strumming of piano strings, and the forbidden door opens to the sound of rasping strings and a huge creak in the percussion section. There is then a nightmarish reel from a violinist, representing the memories of Ireland; the violinist at the first performance was positioned at the back of the Royal Albert Hall.
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