Flint - the edge between land, sea and sky

I am writing a composition for strings ensemble. This is especially for the Corelli Ensemble, a professional ensemble with a devoted following in Sussex, where they are based. As I also live in Sussex, I'm particularly delighted to have the chance to work with them. In conversation with their director, Maeve Jenkinson, we are developing the work as a three part piece to reflect the landscape of Sussex, and also the human presence in it. (About a year ago I worked on a piece about Cuckmere with the filmmaker Cesca Eaton and thanks to her luminous photography and, of course, the famous watercolour of Cuckmere from the 1930s by Ravilious, I became aware of how the landscape of the Sussex Downs, and the needs, and culture of the people that populate it, have shaped how it looks in the intersection between land, sea and sky). At this stage, we are thinking that the piece will have some edgy, percussive and rhythmic sounds, to reflect tools that have shaped the landscape and its dramatic lines, and some lyrical moments - with perhaps even a reference to traditional Sussex folk song - to echo the sense of the place as forming a living culture. The title of the new piece is Flint.