In Memoriam Bill Hopkins
guitar duo
Notes
Paul Keenan had been having regular composition lessons with Bill Hopkins from 1978. Hopkins’ influence on Keenan was immense and is visible in everything from the second half of The Ruin onward.
Completion of the initial version of this work was dated 30 March 1981, just 20 days after Hopkins’ untimely death at the age of 37.
Initially a single-part work, Keenan extended this with a second part, dated January 1984, and no change to the first part.
In Memoriam Bill Hopkins has a considerable performance history: records confirm at least 17 performances in the UK between 1981 and 1984. An unknown number of performances took place as part of a British Council tour of India, Hong Kong, Australia and Syria in 1985.
The Keenan family have made attempts to contact Peter Batchelar and Kenneth Heggie for more information, though these have so far proven unsuccessful. If you can assist with this in any way, please do get in touch.
Title Disambiguation
There are four variations on the title of this work used by the composer, in addition to an entirely alternative name:
- In Memoriam Bill Hopkins
- Duo: In Memoriam Bill Hopkins
- Duo: In Memory Bill Hopkins
- Duo: In Memory of Bill Hopkins
- Dialogues
These all refer to the same composition.
Performance Materials
- A new edition is forthcoming
- Digital copies of the score in Keenan’s hand are available on request for perusal purposes
- The composer also typeset the duo in the 1990s using Sibelius 7
- All original materials and copies made by the composer reside in the RNCM Archive