I first worked with cellist Katherine Jenkinson in 2016 when she asked if I would write a piece for cello and piano for a forthcoming concert. Following this I wanted to write more for the cello so commenced work on Morpheus, a cello concerto for Katherine. For the first movement she suggested I make use of the powerful, brilliant high register that the cello has. The second movement is written around a 12-note sequence which varies only slightly throughout the movement. I wrote the solo cello part to ‘float’ over this sequence. The last movement has a driving intensity, with repeated triplet passages providing momentum. For this recording the Royal Academy of Music kindly loaned Katherine a Rogeri cello.

from notes by Oliver Davis © 2018