Tim Benjamin

This Nocturne is part of an open-ended sequence of solo piano pieces. It was composed for an awareness- and fund-raising event in London for the people of Burma.

While the music has no specific, literal connection to Burma, it is strongly associated with the idea of “night”, hence the title. Night can be a time of sleep, rest, and renewal; it can also refer to a dark, dangerous time (recall the Evening Prayer: “... by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night”). In these two contrasting senses, therefore, the music is related to the current plight of Burma: an oppressed nation in a darkness of dictatorship, but also a great yet sleeping spirit, which will surely emerge from its night renewed once more into a fresh dawn.