Seven Elements

The composer Alec Roth wrote his cycle Seven Elements, setting texts by Vikram Seth, for James Gilchrist in 2009, subsequently arranging it for quartet and tenor. In the classical Indian tradition, the four European elements – earth, air, fire and water – are supplemented by a fifth: space or ether. The ancient Chinese elements are also five: water, fire, earth, metal and wood. These, in sum, are the seven elements of the seven poems which form the basis of this song cycle. James Gilchrist is joined by the wonderful Carducci Quartet, who also perform a selection of Bartok’s Romanian Dances and Puccini’s heart-wrenching ‘Crisantemi’ (‘Chrysanthemums’).