''Images'' is a cycle of piano pieces composed by
Howard Skempton
Howard While Skempton (born 31 October 1947) is an English composer, pianist, and accordionist.
Since the late 1960s, when he helped to organise the Scratch Orchestra, he has been associated with the English school of experimental music. Skempt ...
in 1989. This work and a variations set, ''The Durham Strike'', are the only large-scale piano works by Skempton, although he has been composing piano music since the beginning of his career.
The work was commissioned by
Channel 4's
HTV West for "Images", a six-part television series of
documentaries dealing with various aspects of
photography. The series was created to mark the 150th anniversary of the invention of photography. The producer,
Barrie Gavin
Barrie Gavin (born 10 June 1935) is a British film director.
Early years
Barrie Gavin was educated at St Paul's School, and studied history at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge from 1954 to 1957.'Cambridge Tripos Lists', ''Times'', 28 June 1 ...
, wanted the music to be similar in concept to
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
's
Gymnopedies: in the words of the composer, the pieces were to be "like a sculpture viewed from different angles in a changing light." The pianist who performed ''Images'' for the TV series was
Michael Finnissy
Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy".
Although he rejects the label, he is often r ...
.
''Images'' comprises eight preludes, two "songs" (''The Cockfight: a traditional song'' and ''Song 2''), a set of variations, eight interludes and a postlude (''Postlude: The Keel Row''). In concert, the order of the pieces is not fixed and is left for the performer to determine. The eight preludes contain the pieces that directly correspond to Gavin's request. Preludes 1–3, all written on three
staves and in 3/8
time, share identical rhythmic and melodic structure of all melodic lines, with just some of the notes and the
key changed. Prelude 4 is also in 3/8 time and has a somewhat similar rhythmic structure, slightly simplified and written on two staves. The other four preludes form two pairs of such almost identical pieces. Preludes 5 and 6 are both in 7/16 time, and 7 and 8 are in 6/16.
The eight interludes were composed with specific scenes in mind and range from 18 to just 8 bars. Numbers 3, 5 and 8 employ free notation: there are no barlines, and the notes have no stems; note values are uniform throughout.
References
Howard Skempton's programme notes for ''Images''* Howard Skempton: "Images" (score). Published by Oxford University Press. (3736985),
* Maurice Hinson. ''Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire'', p. 737. Indiana University Press, 2000.
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Compositions by Howard Skempton
Compositions for solo piano