Voices of Time: A Portrait of Lake Moraine

Year Composed:	2002 (revised 2007)
Instrumentation:	2.2.2.2./4.2.3.1/timp+1 perc/hp/strings
Duration	6 minutes

Audio Excerpts (MP3)

Dusk

Sheet Music

Score & parts available for rental here.

Program Notes

Voices of Time: A Portrait of Lake Moraine is a musical meditation on one of Canada’s most exquisite natural treasures. Its striking, deep-coloured hues and vibrant recesses directly inspired the aural palette for this piece. I wanted, however, to develop a dramatic musical arc that would transcend the bounds of a purely impressionistic portrait. In order to reconcile this aim with the depiction of an inanimate, static locale, I envisioned a journey through time in which Lake Moraine, a geological entity, was the unusual, sole participant.

The piece is divided into three sections: Dawn, Afternoon, and Dusk. Each section, though overtly based on the shifting visual timbres of Lake Moraine as it passes through the day, also serves as a metaphor for various stages of a life cycle -- birth, youth, and death -- a cycle which governs all things, even when they span vast stretches of geological time. The third section, "Dusk", contains within it a cataclysm which symbolizes the inevitability of death over time, and the terror of facing what lies beyond. The crisis passes, however, and is transcended in a moment inspired by the simple beauty of a resplendent sun setting over Lake Moraine.

Performances

May 25, 2002 - Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Reason; Hamilton Place, Hamilton
February 15, 2007 - University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Raffi Armenian (reading only)
December 17, 2007 - Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, conducted by Alain Trudel. MacMillan Theatre, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto
February 10, 2017 - Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marc David. Arts & Culture Centre, St. John's.
March 11, 2017 - Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gemma New. Hamilton Place, Hamilton
November 16, 2021 - Tampa Bay Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mark Sforzini. Palladium Theater, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)

Commissions and Awards

winner of the First Annual Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra Young Composers' Competition, 2002
winner of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Composers' Competition, 2007
winner of the Tampa Bay Symphony Orchestra Fourth Annual Call for Scores, 2020

Reviews

"This was [Lau's] first orchestral work, uncharacteristically melodic and consonant for Academic New Music and, very impressive." - David S. Fawcett, davidsfawcett.blogspot.ca