''Within Her Arms'' is a composition for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

by the British-born composer

Anna Clyne Anna Clyne (born 9 March 1980) is an English composer resident in the United States. She has worked in both acoustic music and electroacoustic music. Biography Born on 9 March 1980 in London, Clyne began writing music as a child, completing her ...

. The work was commissioned by the conductor

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conducting, conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Sw ...

and the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

. It was first performed April 7, 2009 at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Av ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Salonen. The piece was composed in memory of Clyne's mother, who died in 2008.

Composition

''Within Her Arms'' is scored for a string orchestra consisting of 15 players. The work has a duration 14 minutes and is composed in one continuous movement. Concerning the dedication of the piece to her late mother, Clyne simply wrote, "''Within Her Arms'' is music for my mother, with all my love."

Reception

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called the work "a fragile elegy for fifteen strings; intertwining voices of lament bring to mind

English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement, cultural and Art movement, artistic movement in England during the late 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginni ...

masterpieces of

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (; also Tallys or Talles; 23 November 1585) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

and

John Dowland John Dowland ( – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", " N ...

, although the music occasionally breaks down into spells of static grief, with violins issuing broken cries over shuddering double-bass drones." Mark Swed of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' similarly lauded that it "had the feel of wholesome traditional British string music enlivened by a new spirit." Lawrence A. Johnson of the ''Chicago Classical Review'' particularly praised the piece, writing: He added, "This is one of the English composer's most personal and finest efforts to date, and one could easily see this powerful elegy entering the regular string repertoire."

References

Compositions by Anna Clyne 2009 compositions Compositions for string orchestra Music dedicated to family or friends Funerary and memorial compositions Music commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic {{classical-composition-stub