Sunday 27 April at 2:30pm

Video : Marie Hanlon • Music: Rhona Clarke • Duration 8.30 mins • Concord Ensemble Up Close With Music Series 3

During the hours before dawn, often referred to as ‘the small hours’, cycles of sleep allow the brain to slow down and process events of the day, usually by way of dreaming. The title here refers also to the daytime hours when the mind is free of immediate and urgent demands. In moments of dreamlike wakefulness the brain makes new connections, associations and discoveries, piecing together what is remembered with what is imagined.

The music, played by the accordion, is dark and slow moving, expressing something of the unreality associated with the small hours. A sense of searching pervades the visual imagery, its fragmented sequences require the viewer to find points of connection. Strong light and dark contrasts, together with an underlying geometry, give a formal coherence to the piece.

The work , music and visuals, was commissioned by Concorde for their Up Close with Music series and is dedicated to Dermot Dunne.