Simpson, Mark: Israfel

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s take on the Koranic angel Israfel, "whose heart-strings are a lute, and who has the sweetest voice of all God’s creatures", Mark Simpson was motivated to write a piece that sang, floated, morphed, moved, moved us, lifted us, had power, had fragility, had hope, uncertainty, beauty – something otherworldly, something transcendental – something to shake us. Poe's poem perfectly conjures up the myriad emotions Simpson wanted to take the listener through. In terms of structure the piece is divided into two parts. The first part has an ever-shifting, singing quality, and the second a faster more determined drive towards a dramatic climax. The coda however is bittersweet, as in the poem, which concludes with the author wondering whether if their places were switched, he could make a better melody from his lyre.