This work was commissioned in 2012 by the percussionist, Yasuaki Fukuhara, and takes its title from the final verse of W.B.Yeats' poem, The Song of Wandering Aengus;

 

Though I am old with wandering,

Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

I will find out where she has gone,

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among long dappled grass,

And pluck till time and times are done,

The silver apples of the moon,

The golden apples of the sun.

 

This piece does not seek to follow the narrative of the poem, but rather takes lines from it as an inspiration for three contrasting movements.

 

The first movement, Through Hollow Lands and Hilly Lands, is in the form of a dogged march over a repeated bass line, featuring tom-toms, snare drum and cymbals playing rhythms associated with rock drumming. At the end of the movement, the marimba enters with material that will be heard in the next movement.

 

The second movement, The Silver Apples of the Moon, features vibraphone, glockenspiel and crotales, as well as the dobachi (a resonant bronze bowl of Japanese origin). The music is delicate and ethereal.

 

In contrast, the final movement, The Golden Apples of the Sun, is energetic and fiery, featuring tubular bells, timpani and other tuned percussion instruments including cowbells.