Dedicated to Michael Dean, Texas, USA.

This piece was inspired by a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, the 19th century American Quaker who became a household name in the US and the UK. Despite all the earthquakes, wind and fire of our minds, if we let it the "still small voice of calm" reappears to soothe us. Essentially this is what happens in the piece: sudden violent interjections are gradually pacified by the quiet authority of the insistent repeated melody.

The video below is of the first performance by Michael Dean (Clarinet) and Dena Kay Jones (Piano) at Orfeo Music Festival, Vitipeno, Italy, 8 July 2018.

First US performance on 27 October 2018 at the University of Texas at El Paso by Dr James Logan and Dena Kay Jones (piano). The audience response was very good: "The contrasts between chaos and peace resonated within people".