Abstract
Watts Chapel is named after the Arts and Crafts memorial chapel built by Mary Watts in commemoration of her husband, the artist GF Watts. The chapel is situated close to my home in Surrey, England, and offers passers-by the opportunity for reflection and quiet contemplation. My piece draws on the music of Gustav Mahler written around the time the chapel was built – specifically, fragments of the 3rd and 9th Symphonies, and the song Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the world), from Rückert-Lieder. The Mahler references concern remembrance and the transience of mortality. My music is slow and spacious; it attempts to evoke the peaceful atmosphere of Watts Chapel. The piece is dedicated to all innocent victims of conflict.