''Images'' is a cycle of piano pieces composed by Howard Skempton in 1989. This work and a variations set, ''The Durham Strike'', are the only large-scale piano works by Skempton, although he has been composing piano music since the beginning of his career. The work was commissioned by

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for "Images", a six-part television series of

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dealing with various aspects of

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. The series was created to mark the 150th anniversary of the invention of photography. The producer,

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, wanted the music to be similar in concept to

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's Gymnopedies: in the words of the composer, the pieces were to be "like a sculpture viewed from different angles in a changing light." The pianist who performed ''Images'' for the TV series was

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. ''Images'' comprises eight preludes, two "songs" (''The Cockfight: a traditional song'' and ''Song 2''), a set of variations, eight interludes and a postlude (''Postlude: The Keel Row''). In concert, the order of the pieces is not fixed and is left for the performer to determine. The eight preludes contain the pieces that directly correspond to Gavin's request. Preludes 1–3, all written on three staves and in 3/8

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

, share identical rhythmic and melodic structure of all melodic lines, with just some of the notes and the key changed. Prelude 4 is also in 3/8 time and has a somewhat similar rhythmic structure, slightly simplified and written on two staves. The other four preludes form two pairs of such almost identical pieces. Preludes 5 and 6 are both in 7/16 time, and 7 and 8 are in 6/16. The eight interludes were composed with specific scenes in mind and range from 18 to just 8 bars. Numbers 3, 5 and 8 employ free notation: there are no barlines, and the notes have no stems; note values are uniform throughout.

References

Howard Skempton's programme notes for ''Images''
* Howard Skempton: "Images" (score). Published by Oxford University Press. (3736985), * Maurice Hinson. ''Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire'', p. 737. Indiana University Press, 2000. {{Authority control Compositions by Howard Skempton Compositions for solo piano