Cheryl Frances-Hoad

The Sky Stretched Thin

The Sky Stretched Thin, a four-minute piece for baroque or modern violin, takes inspiration from a poem by Simon Armitage written during lockdown with the same title. The week that I read this newly published poem, I also swam in the (very cold!) saltwater of the River Crouch in Essex for the first time in the year. The view from the middle of the river of land, water and sky seemed to stretch for miles, and the waves of high tide were gentle yet powerful: in this short work I sought to convey the sense of peace and connection to nature that I experienced whilst swimming. —Cheryl Frances-Hoad, 2021