Music Notes by Kit Watson.

The music for openwork was originally commissioned in 1998 for a short piece of finished choreography. In order that the music could enter the very distinctive world of openwork, the composer started by improvising on the violin, absorbing the choreography, but also influencing the delivery of the movement material. A solo melody was developed and recorded while the dancer danced (if you know where to listen, you can still sometimes hear the dancer’s feet!) From there a sound world was developed to complement and accompany the violin solo. Several generations of openwork later, the music has grown from the original seed into a much larger work, with the violin solo still intact at the end of the piece. The composer thinks of openwork as a strange and beautiful garden full of fecund greenery and unfamiliar trees. It’s only by pushing through the overgrown branches and vines that you find what’s at the heart of the garden. 

Musical  Notes by Ornette D. Clennon

The musical material in this work gains its inspiration from a Mongolian folk melody in the second movement and from the Stylistics' classic "Betcha Golly Wow" in the third. I enjoyed using these sources as starting points and relished the challenge of exploring and creating something new from them whilst still bearing in mind Claire's choreographic needs.

Although all the three movements are linked by their themes and harmonies, providing a surface continuity, each movement has its own distinct mood and musical space - gently taking the listener across some pretty beguiling but at times challenging terrain.