A Waiting Ghost in the Blue Sky (1999)

For Bb clarinet (Eb cl), cello, piano, percussion (1). Duration circa 15 minutes. First performed by the Contempo Ensemble conducted by Mauro Ceccanti, Prato, Tuscany, December 1999. The work was later performed several times by Psappha.

Live BBC recording – performed by Psappha at the St. Magnus Festival 2000

“Yeats is largely self-taught, though he has received support and encouragement from Maxwell Davies after attending his composition summer school on Hoy some years ago. He is also a painter, and the possibility that the audio and visual aspects of his creative imagination are linked in some way should not be ruled out. Yeats is an experimental composer in his own highly individual manner, and this is reflected in almost all his recent scores. a waiting ghost in the blue sky was the most ‘advanced’ music on offer at this year’s Festival, yet the confidence with which Yeats deployed his material ensured a warm reception.”

John Warnsby – Festival Review: St Magnus Festival – 16 – 21 June 2000