Diaries of the early worm
Diaries of the early worm was composed in 2019 for recorder virtuoso Tabea Debus.
The work was premiered at the finals of the Moeck / Society of Recorder Players Solo Recorder Playing Competition at the London International Festival of Early Music.
It has since been programmed regularly in Tabea’s ongoing ‘Ode to an Earworm’ concert series.
About:
The idea of an ‘earworm’, a passage of music which continually repeats in the mind, was the main point of departure for the piece. Snippets of melodies by troubadour Guiraut Riquier emerge out of a series of short, repetitive, often obsessive musical ideas which mirror our tendency to repeat catchy melodies in our head. Whilst the title alludes to the early melodies referenced, it also invites a narrative interpretation.
News:
Diaries of the Early Worm won the Ivor Novello Award in the solo / duo category of the Ivors Composer Awards 2020. Describing the work, the judges noted: "Despite it's short duration [the piece] captures a variety of colours and takes the listener on a surprising discourse. [It is] captivating from beginning to end, witty, full of character, and imaginative in its referencing of familiar and historical materials."
Tabea Debus’s recording of the piece was released by Delphian Records in summer, 2020.
The Royal Academy of Music has awarded a research grant for the composition of a new work for Tabea in 2020/21. This will be for solo recorder, viola de gamba, theorbo/lutes and an ensemble of modern instruments.
In 2020, Gareth also composed a partner piece for this project, VIDA - an extended solo piano work based on a collection of troubadour and trobairitz melodies.
Some examples of this early repertoire are below: Guiraut de Bornaill’s Non puesc sofrir, and Guiraut Riquier’s Humils Forfaitz.