from a now prominent archaeological site known as the Tomb of the Eagles. This is a Neolithic chambered tomb discovered in 1958 by Ronald Simison, the farmer on whose land the tomb lies, and later professionally excavated and written-up by John W. Hedges. Hedges occupied a cottage in the locality and became friendly with Strutt. The symphonic poem is dedicated to Hedges, and the score bears a quotation from the latter's popular publication "Tomb of the Eagles": "When in Orkney I sometimes walk down to the tomb of Isbister to spend time on my own. It is a place of great atmosphere where, cut off from the outside world, one is inescapably made aware of the past. I am not talking of psychic phenomena here but, more mundanely, of the sheer impressiveness of a prehistoric monument and the insight which modern archaeology can give us into the period in which it was built. One can almost bring it to life in the imagination and even in its present state of decay it provides considerable reflection. Perhaps one day it will be the source of inspiration for a piece of music – the thought itself is an indication of my feelings". The work lasts thirteen minutes in performance, and the scoring is for a triple woodwind-sized orchestra including a cimbalom, piano doubling celesta, organ and SATB chorus. The sung text comprises the sacred incantatory mystical syllable "Om" characteristic of Indian religions, and is used in the context of the score both as a quasi-instrumental element, and a reference to link the practice of sky burial, which is believed to have been used at the tomb, with Tibet where excarnation is also to be found. String quartets Strutt's String Quartet No. 1 has a long history. Originating in 1959 as a pre-student work, its two movements constituted the only remaining sections of a much longer piece of which the rest was destroyed. The two movements – "Lament", and "Scherzo" – were premiered at the Farnham Festival, Surrey, England on 12 May 1960 in St Andrew's Parish Church, Farnham, and were repeated on the next day at the Aldershot Festival, the performers being Jenifer Springate and Gillian Feltham (violins), Helen Johnstone (viola) and Dietrich Küchemann (cello). A minor revision of the score was carried out in 2003, followed four years later by a substantial revision which saw the composition expanded to four movements: