beneath garlands was composed during the summer and autumn of 2002 for the Sugrizimai festival in Lithuania the following year.

The Sugrizimai festival is held in spring in Lithuania ? a time of year for celebrating the passing of hard winters ? a time to dance, sometimes slowly sometimes with passion in locations adorned by brightly coloured garlands.

After immersing myself in a variety of Baltic folk-music idioms I set about weaving together a garland of miniature dances for life.

The cellist Giedre Dirvanauskaite and pianist Lauryna Sableviciute gave the first performance of Beneath Garlands at the Sugrizimai festival in Lithuania 2003.

Beneath Garlands is dedicated to my wife Lauryna Sableviciute.