Ella Macens
(b. 1991)
A Love Worth Fighting For
(2020)
Love
Longing, To Be Where We Were
Fire
The Departure
This deeply personal work was born out of the processing of a significant long-term relationship coming to an end.
Set in four movements titled Love; Longing, To Be Where We Were; Fire; and The Departure, the work explores the many facets of love and encapsulates my experiences of grief, nostalgia and longing surrounding this time.
One of the most significant aspects of A Love Worth Fighting For is the slow unfolding of the narrative over time, and it is through this slow reveal and expansion of musical ideas that I intended to paint the poignancy of the narrative.
Themes of growth and decay, of expansion and contraction, are prominent here, and are used to signal the surging and dissipation of emotional states as the work unfolds.
To me, A Love Worth Fighting For is a pure expression of intimacy in music, not only in relation to the narrative behind the work, but also in the ways that the sounds are constructed and coaxed out of the instruments with a sense of tenderness and sincerity.
© Ella Macens