For this improvisation I chose the name “Asphodel Twilight” to represent half-light, bewilderment, loss, nostalgia and suspension. In Greek mythology, the Asphodel Meadows are a part of the underworld where the soul’s memories of the previous life begin to fade away. Like a transition from an earthy, grounded reality into a grey-out twilight zone. This follows on from my previous improvisation “Bluebell”, where in Faerie folklore the ringing of the bluebells are a death knell and your soul is about to be spirited away. My use of some counterpoint in this piece represented the voices of a multitude of souls, wandering the underworld with no recollection of who they once were.

I started with diatonic 4-part chord planing within the E Dorian mode — playing a series of slow descending block chords, which felt like a darkening descent into the underworld. Then a few fast arpeggios at the bottom of this descent felt like the turbulence of crossing the threshold — the moment the fae mist closes over you.

Then the main theme began, still in E Dorian, but taking on a triple time signature (later 4/4). In a similar way to Bluebell which was in 6/8 (compound duple time), triple time can have a slight lilting feel. This felt like a nostalgic holding on to the former real life. I also incorporated a lot of suspensions and add 9 chords, which to me feel like longing, reinforcing that nostalgia. The Dorian mode has a lift due to its major 6th, like hope and remembrance, but the darkness of its minor 3rd feels like the fading sunbeam as we descend into the other world.

Then I moved to D Dorian ♯4, which is a strange and mysterious sounding mode, and its raised 4th introduces a piercing light to its overall darkness: like a sudden flash of memory, which then fragments and evaporates, like the fading memories of the souls in the Asphodel meadow.

Next I moved to B♭ Lydian — the Lydian mode tends to sound quite suspenseful, and sometimes like it is floating away, quite ethereal. It made me think of the soul trying to hold onto its memory of its name before it vanishes. This particular part was represented by the inner voices of the right hand, lingering on the sharpened 4th of the Lydian mode, and forming suspensions and resolutions.

This sequence was repeated before moving to D Mixolydian ♭6. To me, the Mixolydian ♭6 always sounds dream-like, slightly unreal, and twilight-like, which was fitting for this imagery. It’s like a surrender to the twilight. 

After this, the Dorian sharp 4 and Lydian sequence was repeated, then Dorian themes from earlier. This loop felt a bit like a persistent search, like the fading soul trying to find those fading memories. 

Throughout this piece I used a bit of counterpoint, which felt like the whispering of multiple souls trying to be heard before they fade away.

At the end I closed with a fragmented variation of some of the longing, hopeful melodies of the earlier Dorian section — a bit like hope for the possibility we might not end up in the Asphodel meadow after all. 

Note names and parent scales

Mode	Notes	Parent scale	Modal origin
E Dorian	E F♯ G A B C♯ D	D major	2nd mode of major
D Dorian ♯4	D E F G♯ A B C	A harmonic minor	4th mode of harmonic minor
B♭ Lydian	B♭ C D E F G A	F major	4th mode of major
D Mixolydian ♭6	D E F♯ G A B♭ C	G melodic minor	5th mode of melodic minor

Interval formulas

E Dorian

1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7

D Dorian ♯4

1 2 ♭3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7

B♭ Lydian

1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7

D Mixolydian ♭6

1 2 3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7

Learn more about modes: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales

You might also like Aster — Improvisation in G♯ Aeolian

Or Fantasia in E — Improvisation in E Aeolian, B♭ Lydian, A Mixolydian ♭6 & E Dorian