Dreams, Rest and Motion Programme Notes by Gary Ryan

Dreams, Rest and Motion Dreams, Rest and Motionreflects elements of dreams and sleep, together with different kinds of silence, movement and the gaining of momentum. The music often has dream like qualities, notably at the beginning and end and there are moments where the music suddenly 'rests', creating different atmospheres of silence.

The piece opens with a unison figure, which then drifts apart and separates to create an echo rather in the manner of an electronic delay. The pulse then slowly becomes more apparent and the piece gradually builds up momentum through a series of increasingly elaborate improvisatory melodies played over syncopated accompaniment.

The delay effect is used more extensively as the piece progresses, creating something akin to a spinning effect, with the two guitars playing similar material slightly displaced from one other. Eventually a point arrives where the music finally breaks free of its drone like modal origins and circles through a richer series of keys to arrive in an almost carnival like atmosphere. By this point the piece is firmly up and running but the pulse becomes interrupted in places before the carnival theme is reprised for the second and final time.

Eventually one guitar breaks into a repeated gentle percussive accompaniment over which harmonics and left hand hammered notes are played. The pulse finally dissipates and the music ends with the opening figure returning above sustained chords, achieved by rubbing the strings vigorously. As the music finally dies, the closing effect implies the piece may just have been a dream.

Gary Ryan - September 2006