Kristina Arakelyan and Alex Dakin win NCEM Young Composers awards in York

Dakin’s work Sonnet 147 and Arakelyan’s Penelope will be premiered by Theatre of the Ayre at a date and southern venue still to be confirmed and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show this autumn.

Young composers, resident in Britain, were invited to create a contemporary response to one of the most intimate musical forms of the Renaissance, the lute song. The music had to set one of four selected poems by William Shakespeare or Carol Ann Duffy.

Dakin, 18, from Cheshire, is studying composition with Jeremy Pike at Chetham’s School of Music. "The structure of Demeter is based on the changes in mood and tone in Shakespeare's Sonnet 147, so I've divided it into three sections," he said. "The first section seeks to convey the narrator’s yearning and the solemnity of the sonnet.

"Words like ‘longing’ and ‘preserve’ are given extended durations, and the lute accompaniment consists mostly of single notes, simple rhythms and slowly changing harmony.

"The second section follows the narrator’s descent into madness. The writing here is more frantic, with shorter note durations and wider leaps for the voice, as well as a faster harmonic rhythm in the lute. In the third section the narrator condemns love to be ‘as dark as night.’ Here the texture and melody are similar to the opening, though the lute’s open harmonics add a touch of coldness to the music. The choice of a very low register for the singer adds to the darkness and pessimism of the final lines."

Kristina Arakelyan, 21, is a composition scholar at the Royal Academy of Music in London. "The poem Penelope by Carol Ann Duffy appealed to me because of the vivid imagery and because of the inspiring journey we see in Penelope’s life," she said.

"Contrary to the description in Greek mythology in which Penelope uses treachery to repel her suitors by telling them that she will accept their advances once she has finished embroidering, Carol Ann Duffy tells an entirely different story by focusing on the female perspective.

"She speaks of a woman who has found her life’s purpose, her talent, and is preoccupied with pursuing it. The most exciting part of the poem for me was the sheer delight of being wrapped in your internal world of creativity; something that Duffy herself felt when writing about Penelope’s embroidery, and that I felt as I wrote music to her poem."

In her music, Arakelyan describes Penelope’s psychological journey through the repetition of the beginning theme with different accompanying harmonies to symbolise growth. "I've also used the Dorian and Phrygian modes in the harmonic and melodic construction in order to evoke what the Ancient Greek lyre may possibly have sounded like.

"The lute adds a very exciting and original colour and is very much in keeping with the idea of the ancient and the exotic that is explored in the theme of the poem."

Theatre of the Ayre director and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny

The awards were presented by the National Centre for Early Music in partnership with BBC Radio 3 and Theatre of the Ayre. Eight finalists were selected and invited to the NCEM, in Walmgate, York, on May 12 when their entries were presented by Theatre of the Ayre director and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny with mezzo soprano Anna Starushkevych and tenor Nicholas Mulroy in a workshop led by Christopher Fox, the York composer and professor in music at Brunel University, London.

At 7.30pm on the same day, each piece was performed by Theatre of the Ayre at a public concert in the presence of the judging panel of Elizabeth Kenny, BBC Radio 3 producer Les Pratt and NCEM director Delma Tomlin.

Reflecting on the day, host Delma Tomlin said: "The NCEM Young Composers Award 2016 workshop offered us all a fascinating insight into a 21st century vision of the English lute song, utilising some of the most flawless poems ever written and beautifully presented by lutenist Elizabeth Kenny and singers Anna Starushkevych and Nicholas Mulroy.

"Each musician generously offered their own thoughts and interpretations of the music, working with each individual composer to create something truly unique. A remarkable day for all concerned.”

Les Pratt, the Early Music Show's lead producer, said: “In the 70 years since Radio 3's inception, the station has had a strong commitment to early music, to commissioning new music and supporting young talent, so as an organisation, we’re delighted to continue our involvement with the NCEM Young Composers Award.

"Yet again, I've been hugely impressed by the quality of submissions we received this year. The workshop was hugely productive, and it was immensely enjoyable to watch and listen to Elizabeth, Anna and Nicholas working closely with our shortlisted young composers to create such polished performances.”

Elizabeth Kenny added: “Theatre of the Ayre had a fantastic day interacting with eight inventive and creative minds. Each person challenged us musically, technically and most importantly, emotionally with an astonishingly vivid and varied set of responses to the chosen texts. It's been a privilege to get to know and work on them.”

Last Thursday's concert performance was streamed live and is available to view at ncem.co.uk/composersaward2016. The performance of the shortlisted entries was recorded courtesy of music technology students Davide Cuoghi and Jed Fulwell from the department of electronics at the University of York.