Nigel Westlake (b. 1958)

Toward Takayna (2021)

Concerto for two guitars
In three movements

Dedicated to Leonard Grigoryan and Slava Grigoryan
Funding provided by Andrew and Renata Kaldor and the Albert H. Maggs Composition Award

The sense of a wonder-filled journey in Toward Takayna is palpable from the opening bars, in which the gently chugging strings form the backdrop for evocations of birdsong by the woodwinds. When the guitars emerge from the orchestral undergrowth, as if singing back to the figures that have just been ‘sung” to them, their phrases are embedded on a cushion of shimmering sound, in which the harp, celeste, and multiply divided strings feature most prominently. Throughout this opening movement, the shifting time signatures suggest the rocking of a boat, until we reach a moment when orchestra and soloists seem overwhelmed by the beauty of Takayna itself. After this powerful climax, the two guitars have a short, rapt cadenza, which seems to leave you suspended in mid-air until, with the very next chord, you realise that you are in a different musical space.

The overriding impression of Toward Takayna is one of serenity, felt most powerfully in this second movement. The descending chromatic passages for the soloists suggest the movement of night creatures, while the ensuing dialogue between wind, harp, percussion and guitars makes it difficult not to imagine a canopy of stars.

In the latter part of this movement, and towards the end of the third, Leonard swaps his six-string guitars for a 12-string. As Westlake explains: ‘Not many people enjoy playing the 12-string or play it as well as Lenny. It has a bright, rich sound, and brings a specific colour to certain passages in the piece. It’s inclusion here is also a tribute to the shared admiration that Slava, Lenny and I all have for the playing of 12-string master Ralph Towner.’

No sooner has the second movement concluded than the soloists launch into the concerto’s second cadenza, a dazzling passage that, it soon turns out, acts as the beginning of the finale. In his exhilarating movement, Westlake often treats the guitars colouristically, as they weave them in and out of the vibrant, virtuosic orchestral texture, sometimes playing very percussively. Then, (just before the final swap to 12-string guitar), the mood changes from that of high adventure to one in which we seem to be meditating on the journey that began with the concerto’s opening bars. With a final glisten of marimba and harp, Westlake seems to say, Takayna is a moment in time, and a place, that lives forever in his memory.

© Phillip Sametz, 2021