Meditation is an ideal recital work for advanced secondary school students and above looking to explore contemporary music. Farr wrote Meditation to highlight the lyrical qualities of the solo instrument with piano accompaniment. As such, Meditation provides an opportunity for the soloist to shine through individual expression, making it perfect for recitals and competitions. The work has subsequently been arranged for alto saxophone and piano (PE125), and clarinet and piano (PE127).
The initial piano chords of Meditation alternate and create a harmonic foundation over which lyrical melodic material is placed. The convergence of these elements result in a sound which instills a sense of equanimity – reminiscent, musically, of the title of the work. As the work progresses, the registral spectrum of notes utilised broadens. The expressive themes which permeate Meditation continue to develop and eventually become subtly underpinned by alternating crotchet-notes in the piano. This underlying harmonic material evolves and in due course emerges as the foreground of the piece, culminating in an unaccompanied piano section. Both instruments come together again, performing fluid gestures characterised by quaver-note motion and fluctuating dynamic variation. The work resolves and comes to an end with material evocative of that heard at the outset of the piece.
Farr has cleverly kept the piano part well out of the viola's way, so that the espressivo never needs to sound forced. Both viola and piano parts are easy, almost sight-readable, making this a great piece to teach beginners about expressive sustained bowing within the first three positions.
