The Bones of a Child by The Dandelion Clocks

My new orchestral instrument composition called The Bones of a Child.
The inspiration behind this dark and brooding song stems from a variety of sources, all deeply personal and haunting. One of the earliest seeds was a distant memory of a poem I wrote in primary school, reflecting on the wildlife in a still wood at dusk. I owe much to the teachers who encouraged my creative instincts back then, laying a foundation for artistic exploration that would shape my work for years to come.
Later, in high school, a school trip to the Vindolanda Roman Fort at Hadrian’s Wall introduced me to a poignant historical mystery: the discovery of a child’s skeleton beneath the barracks floor. The anonymity of the child, whose identity and fate remain lost to time, gripped me. The thought that no one will ever know who this young person was or why they were buried there stayed with me.
A similarly affecting event occurred in 2011, when archaeologists excavating near the A2 in Kent uncovered the grave of a young woman, aged between sixteen and twenty, who had been executed with a Roman sword around AD 50. Again, I was struck by the heart-wrenching uncertainty of her story-how her family likely lived out their lives never knowing what became of her. Both of these historical events deeply influenced the title and thematic direction of the song.
At the heart of these two enduring mysteries is a sense of desperate, irreconcilable sorrow. The discovery of these graves comes far too late to offer any solace to the families, and with so many pieces of the puzzle missing, modern archaeologists can never provide true closure. The passing of time may soften the pain, but the unresolved nature of these tragedies lingers.
In crafting the music, I wove in themes of nature’s quietude, like the calming sound of a rookery in the countryside and the serenity of a forest after dusk, to reflect how time can soothe even the most unsettling events. The song is entirely orchestral, with a steady rhythm laid down by the deep bass notes of a contrabassoon. A soft piano provides a delicate backdrop, with a chord progression that evokes a sense of unease and incompletion. Subtle trombones punctuate the verses, adding subtle moments of anxiety, while the string section-comprised of violas, violins, and cellos with occasional portamento slides-heightens the gravity of the mood.
In the middle of the song, a contrasting waltz melody emerges, carried by two of my most cherished expressive instruments, the oboe and cor anglais. This passage introduces a sense of beauty amid the tragedy, a theme also captured in the cover image, which recalls the ethereal, melancholic grace of Ophelia.