Memento was composed in memory of David Huntley, the charismatic Vice-President of Boosey & Hawkes in the United States, who died in 1994. This work was written for the concert given in his memory by the Kronos Quartet on 13 October 1994 (the other composers included Elliott Carter, Robin Holloway, Barbara Kolb and Aaron Jay Kernis). The Scottish connection with this piece is central to its musical language. According to Macmillan, Memento is ‘based on the modality of Gaelic lament music and the Gaelic heterophony of psalm-singing in the Hebrides.’

Nigel Simeone 2013