Distance and Enchantment is a musical essay considering the strikingly common occurrence of people who disappear from home never to return. It takes the form of two meditations on traditional songs which are played together without a break, amounting to a single movement of about eleven minutes duration. The first song, 'The Dark Eyed Gipsy' from Northern Ireland tells of a woman who of her own accord leaves her home to roam the unknown world with a band of gipsies; and the second 'A Ghaoil Lig Dhachaigh Gu M'mathair Mi' from South Uist, Scotland, tells of a girl who wanders a little too far from home on a dark night and is stolen away by the fairies.
Scored for Violin, Cello, Viola and Piano. Score and parts included.