Elegy for Ukraine was composed in March 2022 especially for the recorderist John Turner. The outer sections are based on a modal prayer-like melody, whilst the central section is more agitated with the piano depicting a mysterious, flowing river. Fragments of two Ukrainian laments are woven into the piece: ‘Plyve Kacha Po Tysyni’ [the duckling swims in the Tisza] and ‘In the Grove, by the Danube’. An adapted version exists for violin.

© Jeremy Pike