The First Note

Text 1: The Open String, by Mira Halden

An original novel extract.

The applause for the orchestra’s first piece faded unevenly: a storm moving away, one clap at a time. Then there was only the rustle of programmes and a single cough from somewhere high in the balcony.

Anya carried her cello to the chair at the front of the stage. The spotlight found her before she sat down. Its white circle seemed barely large enough for the chair, the instrument and her polished black shoes. Beyond it, the audience disappeared into darkness. She adjusted the spike beneath the cello, although it was already exactly where she wanted it. Her bow hand had developed a pulse of its own.

At home, the opening phrase had always arrived easily. It had flowed from the strings before she had time to worry about it. Here, in the concert hall, the same notes stood behind a locked door. Anya placed the bow against the string. The conductor lifted his baton, but held it there. Not yet. The silence tightened. She could hear the faint scrape of hair against string and wondered if everyone else could hear it too.

The baton fell. Now. Anya drew the bow towards her, and the first note emerged thin as a thread, trembled for an instant, then widened and warmed until it reached the furthest seats and came back to her from the wooden walls. Only when the orchestra entered behind her did she release the breath trapped beneath her ribs.

How does Mira Halden use language and structure to convey Anya’s nervousness before and during the opening of her solo?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.