the blue and the dim and the dark

gloaming

/ˈɡləʊmɪŋ/

noun: gloaming
1. twilight; dusk."hundreds of lights are already shimmering in the gloaming”

Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

                                - William Butler Yeats

I am fortunate in where I live; close to the sea, and to a large open country park with lakes. Every sundown and sunrise, there are a multitude of birds that can be heard competing with one another for best song. The initial material for this double string quartet was taken from several recordings of these birdsongs, and then lightly manipulated to create pitches and rhythms. Alongside this chirruping, I tried to encapsulate the beauty and fleetingness of the the gloaming; the often stunning depths of blue running through the sky immediately after the sunset has finished and before it fully becomes night.

Sarah Lianne Lewis (2019)