John Burge

Program Notes: One Sail, for solo cello and strings, draws its inspiration from a short poem written by Canadian poet, Margaret Avison.  Originally titled, "Discovery on reading a poem," the three lines of text provide a compelling metaphor for the power and relevance of poetry—as a sail converts the wind's force to achieve motion, so too can a poem capture the spirit of humanity and thereby affect enlightenment.  While both of these mechanisms are revealed to be vehicles of transportation, it would be simplistic to view their differences as being the extremes of the physical versus the intellectual.  Anyone who has used canvas to catch the wind's breath will attest to the occasional spiritual feeling of being at one with nature.  Conversely, achieving an understanding of a poet's vision can also create a moment of revelation so intense that its effect is physically invigorating or even all consuming. The composition, One Sail, turns the metaphor one more time to include music in the equation.  In this case though, the visual image is captured aurally as the solo cello charts a course through the textural fabric of the larger string body.  The resultant effect is of a piece based on a few over-lapping ideas that gradually gain momentum only to eventually recede back to the work's starting point.

All performance materials, purchase, printable-down loads, and rental of the orchestral parts are available through the Canadian Music Centre: One Sail [CMC]

Interesting fact: This work also exists in an arrangement for organ and cello: One Sail (Organ Version)

Poem: "Discovery on reading a poem" by Margaret Avison, from, No Time (Hanstsport, Nova Scotia: Lancelot Press, 1989), p. 121    

     One sail