A LIGHT NOT YET READY TO GO OUT - An Affirmation (2017)
World premiere March 20th 2018 at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, London (Sold out!)
London Concert Choir (cond. Mark Forkgen)
Listen to the premiere here....
London Concert Choir (cond. Mark Forkgen)
Listen to the premiere here....
SATB and piano/organ
Versions available for SSA, 1 part and 2 part choirs with piano/organ.
Scores available at (with huge thanks for their support)
composersedition.com/alison-willis-a-light-not-yet-ready-to-go-out
One in eight women in the UK will face breast cancer in their lifetime. And every 45 minutes, another woman dies from the disease.
50% of proceeds from sales go to support the work of Breast Cancer Now,
the UK's largest Breast Cancer charity whose aim is that by 2050 everyone who develops breast cancer
will live.
The piece is in three movements that can be sung individually or together as a whole and is intended to be achievable by many different choirs.
This piece was commissioned by Adrienne Morgan.
However it is also inspired by Adrienne Morgan.
Adrienne is an extraordinary woman, she is a scientist, a campaigner and many things to many people. The libretto of the second movement, whilst about every woman is compiled from the things people said about her when, struggling to find up-beat words that worked, we crowd sourced the lyrics (subsequently edited by Adrienne’s niece Charlotte Morgan.)
Adrienne also has incurable breast cancer.
From the first conversation we had she made it very clear that this piece was to be a celebration of the things that were important in life.
I think maybe our favourite lines are those in Movement III, taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. They are spoken by Siduri, an "alewife", a wise female divinity associated with fermentation (specifically beer and wine), as she attempts to dissuade Gilgamesh in his quest for immortality, urging him to be content with the simple pleasures of life.
“But until the end comes
Let every day be full of joy.
Let music and dancing fill your home,
Savour your food, wear bright clothes,
Love the child that holds your hand
For these alone are the concerns of humanity.”
Whilst written to be performed together each movement can also be performed separately.
We hope you enjoy both singing and listening to our piece.
I would be delighted if you would let me know if you are performing the piece and consider having a retiring collection for Breast Cancer Now.
Thanks!
Versions available for SSA, 1 part and 2 part choirs with piano/organ.
Scores available at (with huge thanks for their support)
composersedition.com/alison-willis-a-light-not-yet-ready-to-go-out
One in eight women in the UK will face breast cancer in their lifetime. And every 45 minutes, another woman dies from the disease.
50% of proceeds from sales go to support the work of Breast Cancer Now,
the UK's largest Breast Cancer charity whose aim is that by 2050 everyone who develops breast cancer
will live.
The piece is in three movements that can be sung individually or together as a whole and is intended to be achievable by many different choirs.
- As Now We Join In Singing
- Caredig a Bendigedig
- Wear Bright Clothes
This piece was commissioned by Adrienne Morgan.
However it is also inspired by Adrienne Morgan.
Adrienne is an extraordinary woman, she is a scientist, a campaigner and many things to many people. The libretto of the second movement, whilst about every woman is compiled from the things people said about her when, struggling to find up-beat words that worked, we crowd sourced the lyrics (subsequently edited by Adrienne’s niece Charlotte Morgan.)
Adrienne also has incurable breast cancer.
From the first conversation we had she made it very clear that this piece was to be a celebration of the things that were important in life.
I think maybe our favourite lines are those in Movement III, taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. They are spoken by Siduri, an "alewife", a wise female divinity associated with fermentation (specifically beer and wine), as she attempts to dissuade Gilgamesh in his quest for immortality, urging him to be content with the simple pleasures of life.
“But until the end comes
Let every day be full of joy.
Let music and dancing fill your home,
Savour your food, wear bright clothes,
Love the child that holds your hand
For these alone are the concerns of humanity.”
Whilst written to be performed together each movement can also be performed separately.
We hope you enjoy both singing and listening to our piece.
I would be delighted if you would let me know if you are performing the piece and consider having a retiring collection for Breast Cancer Now.
Thanks!
PIECED - CONFLICT, CREATIVITY, COMPOSITION (2018)
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A project in partnership with Hampshire Music Service, Robert May's School and "Created in Conflict", an exhibition of War Art at Compton Verney Art Gallery in Warwickshire.
Working with a class of Year 9 pupils (pre GCSE) with varying levels of musical experience (from virtually none to about Grade V) to create new compositions in response to specific pieces of art created by soldiers in war situations, from paintings to murals to quilts with the final pieces (created over the course of only four lessons!) being performed at the exhibition. Most pupils had never composed or performed in public before.... |
MAGNIFICAT (2017)
Recording by Cantus Ensemble (Cond. Dominic Brennan)
Premiered St. Gabriel's Church, Pimlico, July 2017
SATB (extensive divisi)
Written in response to the Nunc Dimittis by Arvo Part this setting approaches the text from the point of view of a young woman confused and overwhelmed by the honour bestowed upon her. With thanks to the fabulous Cantus Ensemble and Dominic.
Premiered St. Gabriel's Church, Pimlico, July 2017
SATB (extensive divisi)
Written in response to the Nunc Dimittis by Arvo Part this setting approaches the text from the point of view of a young woman confused and overwhelmed by the honour bestowed upon her. With thanks to the fabulous Cantus Ensemble and Dominic.
PASCHALIA (2017)
Recording by Rupert Gough - Royal Holloway Chapel Organ Commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine as part of their
New Music Series March/April edition 2017.
Premiered at Royal Holloway Chapel March 1st 2017 by Rupert Gough.
Free to download for six months from the magazine;
www.rhinegold.co.uk/rhinegold-publi…/current-issue/
Ideally suited to Easter Morning, a bright celebratory toccata based on "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today" from the Lyre Davidica. Medium difficulty, (sounds more difficult than it is!)
New Music Series March/April edition 2017.
Premiered at Royal Holloway Chapel March 1st 2017 by Rupert Gough.
Free to download for six months from the magazine;
www.rhinegold.co.uk/rhinegold-publi…/current-issue/
Ideally suited to Easter Morning, a bright celebratory toccata based on "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today" from the Lyre Davidica. Medium difficulty, (sounds more difficult than it is!)
VESPERS (Inspired by the medieval Old Hispanic Office) 2017
Recordings from the premiere performance at Bristol Cathedral by Bristol cathedral Choir
dir. Mark Lee May 20th 2017
With thanks to Emma Hornby and OHO
Commissioned as part of The Old Hispanic Office Project at Bristol University, the Vespers reflect the structure and musical soundscape of the early medieval Christian liturgy in the Iberian peninsula. The chants of this region were written in non pitch-specific neumes (medieval squiggles in technical speak....sorry Emma Hornby and the OHO team!) so nobody really knows how they sounded. These pieces are my interpretation.
1: The Vespertinus, (Quem Timebo?) - the first music heard in the evening liturgy, offering light.
2: The Sono, (Ego Dormivi et Quievi) - appears from the manuscripts to have been based on very few words with extended melismas, some having over two hundred notes to one syllable.
3: The Preces and Responses, taken from the Book of Common Prayer.
4: The Alleluiaticum, (Gustate et Videte) - features repeated Alleluias, bringing the singers closer to the angels.
Whilst conceived as a whole piece each movement is intended to also stand alone for use as introit or anthem, in keeping with the project’s stated aim of capturing the aesthetic and purpose of the medieval material in modern music for modern contexts.
Supported by the European Research Council.
With thanks to Emma Hornby who made it happen!
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement n° 313133.
JOURNEYS (2016)
Hear the BBC Radio 3 broadcast, interview and highlights here.
Watch the whole premiere performance here.
Watch an "edited highlights" video here. (Warning, contains distressing images.)
Hear the BBC Radio 3 broadcast, interview and highlights here.
Watch the whole premiere performance here.
Watch an "edited highlights" video here. (Warning, contains distressing images.)
Listen by clicking on the movement names below;
ACT I: Home is the mouth of a shark
ACT II: The water is safer than the land
ACT III: I don’t know what I’ve become
by Alison Willis in collaboration with CYCO (Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra cond. Peter Hanson)
Act names taken from the poem “Home” by Warsan Shire (used by permission)
Premiere by Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra (cond. Peter Hanson.
Recorded by BBC Radio 3 April 2016.
JOURNEYS is a response to the ongoing Refugee Crisis. The piece is written for string orchestra and is in three movements, or “Acts”. The first Act is about leaving, the second about travel and the third arriving. Each movement features solo lines that represent the millions of individuals that combine to become a “bunch of migrants” (David Cameron, January 2016). The piece has been created as part of Making Music’s “Adopt a Composer Scheme”
The idea was presented to the orchestra and the players were invited to share their thoughts and ideas through conversations at rehearsals, social media, questionnaires and a dedicated website. Each movement was then written by Alison based on these initial ideas, workshopped and then further developed based on the feedback from the musicians, a way of working that is an absolute privilege for a composer!
The piece is almost entirely created from ideas that have come from the members of CYCO, from the overall structure, to the ideas for solos within the orchestra, to the musical content including the use of Arabic scales (called maqams) and rhythms. The entire piece is based on Maqam Saba, which expresses sadness and pain, and can also be related to armies and travelling from place to place. This Maqam uses quarter-tones, notes not usually used in our Western musical tradition and these can be heard throughout the piece but particularly in Act III. Rhythmic influences include the opening of Act I, based on a Syrian rhythm with eleven beats in a bar called Fajir.
The latest statistics from Save the Children are that nearly 50% of Syrians have fled their homes since 2011, 13.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, including 7.5 million children. These are people just like us who have had to leave everything behind to try and keep themselves and their children safe.
www.savethechildren.org.uk/Syria_Appeal
ACT I: Home is the mouth of a shark
ACT II: The water is safer than the land
ACT III: I don’t know what I’ve become
by Alison Willis in collaboration with CYCO (Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra cond. Peter Hanson)
Act names taken from the poem “Home” by Warsan Shire (used by permission)
Premiere by Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra (cond. Peter Hanson.
Recorded by BBC Radio 3 April 2016.
JOURNEYS is a response to the ongoing Refugee Crisis. The piece is written for string orchestra and is in three movements, or “Acts”. The first Act is about leaving, the second about travel and the third arriving. Each movement features solo lines that represent the millions of individuals that combine to become a “bunch of migrants” (David Cameron, January 2016). The piece has been created as part of Making Music’s “Adopt a Composer Scheme”
The idea was presented to the orchestra and the players were invited to share their thoughts and ideas through conversations at rehearsals, social media, questionnaires and a dedicated website. Each movement was then written by Alison based on these initial ideas, workshopped and then further developed based on the feedback from the musicians, a way of working that is an absolute privilege for a composer!
The piece is almost entirely created from ideas that have come from the members of CYCO, from the overall structure, to the ideas for solos within the orchestra, to the musical content including the use of Arabic scales (called maqams) and rhythms. The entire piece is based on Maqam Saba, which expresses sadness and pain, and can also be related to armies and travelling from place to place. This Maqam uses quarter-tones, notes not usually used in our Western musical tradition and these can be heard throughout the piece but particularly in Act III. Rhythmic influences include the opening of Act I, based on a Syrian rhythm with eleven beats in a bar called Fajir.
The latest statistics from Save the Children are that nearly 50% of Syrians have fled their homes since 2011, 13.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, including 7.5 million children. These are people just like us who have had to leave everything behind to try and keep themselves and their children safe.
www.savethechildren.org.uk/Syria_Appeal
JOURNEYS - SOLO PIECES (2016)
All pieces available with piano accompaniment for solo Violin, solo Viola, solo Cello, solo Double Bass.
Intermediate/Advanced. c. Grade VI/VII
For sheet music see BUY page
ACT I: You Only Leave Home When Home Won’t Let You Stay
ACT II: Anywhere is Safer than Here
ACT III: Unless the Miles Travelled Mean Something More than Journey
Act names taken from the poem “Home” by Warsan Shire (used by permission)
These solo pieces are a companion to JOURNEYS, a piece for string orchestra written in response to the ongoing Refugee Crisis. As with the original piece the three movements are presented as “Acts”. The first Act is about leaving, the second about travel and the third arriving. These are the solo stories that represent the millions of individuals that combine to become a “bunch of migrants”. (David Cameron 2016).
The pieces are based on ideas developed from themes in the orchestral piece. Musically the entire piece is based on Arabic “scale”, Maqam Saba, which expresses sadness and pain and can also be related to armies and travelling from place to place. Rhythmic influences include the Syrian rhythm with eleven beats in a bar called Fajir and an improvisatory melodic style.
The latest statistics (December 2016 – World Vision) 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance, 4.8 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.1 million are displaced within Syria. Half of those affected are children.
These are people just like us who have had to leave everything behind to try and keep themselves and their children safe. Profits from these pieces will help to support the work that international charities are doing to alleviate their suffering.
Intermediate/Advanced. c. Grade VI/VII
For sheet music see BUY page
ACT I: You Only Leave Home When Home Won’t Let You Stay
ACT II: Anywhere is Safer than Here
ACT III: Unless the Miles Travelled Mean Something More than Journey
Act names taken from the poem “Home” by Warsan Shire (used by permission)
These solo pieces are a companion to JOURNEYS, a piece for string orchestra written in response to the ongoing Refugee Crisis. As with the original piece the three movements are presented as “Acts”. The first Act is about leaving, the second about travel and the third arriving. These are the solo stories that represent the millions of individuals that combine to become a “bunch of migrants”. (David Cameron 2016).
The pieces are based on ideas developed from themes in the orchestral piece. Musically the entire piece is based on Arabic “scale”, Maqam Saba, which expresses sadness and pain and can also be related to armies and travelling from place to place. Rhythmic influences include the Syrian rhythm with eleven beats in a bar called Fajir and an improvisatory melodic style.
The latest statistics (December 2016 – World Vision) 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance, 4.8 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.1 million are displaced within Syria. Half of those affected are children.
These are people just like us who have had to leave everything behind to try and keep themselves and their children safe. Profits from these pieces will help to support the work that international charities are doing to alleviate their suffering.
I SING OF A MAIDEN (2016)
A setting of the medieval poem for unaccompanied SATB choir with some divisi. Winner of the
Nick Edwards Award judged by Gabriel jackson and Patrick Russill.
This recording is of the premiere by Music Makers of London cond. Hilary Campbell.
Nick Edwards Award judged by Gabriel jackson and Patrick Russill.
This recording is of the premiere by Music Makers of London cond. Hilary Campbell.
THOU HAST MADE ME ENDLESS (2016)
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Premiered by London Concord Singers cond. Jessica Norton as part of their 50th Anniversary Concert.
THOU HAST MADE ME ENDLESS Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali 1, 2 “Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill. I touch by the edge of the far-spreading wing of my song thy feet. I forget myself.” The piece is based on the Indian scale Raag Yaman – an evening raga synonymous with devotion and dedication. It suggests an unconditional offering, asking nothing in return. Unusual techniques including gentle overtones (influenced by Stockhausen’s “Stimmung”), hissed “sss” sounds and repeated consonants to create an artificial echo effect. The repeated opening phrase reflects the cyclical nature of the words and their inherent sense of timeless contemplation. |
ASK MERCY WHILE THOU MAY (2016)
A choral piece (SATB Divisi) based on a Middle English Poem of the same name
ombined with the words of the Kyrie Eleison. There is something about medieval poetry
that I find deeply satisfying to set to music and this is one such text.
ombined with the words of the Kyrie Eleison. There is something about medieval poetry
that I find deeply satisfying to set to music and this is one such text.
THE MERRY COUNCELLOR SUITE (2016)
A suite of three pieces based on Baroque forms but with a distinctly modern twist!
The tune on which they are based comes from the "Kitty Bridges Pocket Book" (Reiver Music), a previously uncatalogued book of tunes discovered in a shoe box at RVW Library, Cecil Sharp House. These hadwritten tunes were prefaced by a poem with the first letter of each line spelling out the name "Kitty Bridges".
Whilst we never found out who she was, we thoroughly enjoyed researching and recreating tunes that were a window into the "Pop Music" of the Baroque era.
GUSTATE ET VIDETE
"Gustate et Videte" was composed in response to a call for works from the Old Hispanic Office project at Bristol University. The EU-funded Old Hispanic Office project is focusing on musical, liturgical, theological, notational and historical aspects of the rite celebrated in medieval Iberia until it was suppressed in favour of the Roman liturgy with its Gregorian chant repertoire.
As well as presenting their work through conventional means (including conference papers, journal articles and a monograph), they are sharing their findings with composers within and beyond the project team. These composers are then responding to the historical findings in compositional form, capturing something of the aesthetic and purpose of the medieval material, in modern music for modern contexts.
"Gustate et Videte" is a response to the spiritual notion of becoming one with the angels through the repeated singing of an "Alleluia", in this case taking the form of the Alleluiaticum within the Vespers liturgy.
Following an excellent weekend in Bristol and Oxford with twenty composers from all over Europe I am delighted to have been commissioned to write a larger choral work exploring elements of Vespers for Bristol Cathedral Choir and Oxford Christchurch Choir, due for performance in spring/summer 2017 and hopefully subsequent use in the Anglican liturgy. Thanks to Emma Hornby and her team at OHO.
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement n° 313133.
Gustate et Videte - Bristol Cathedral Choir dir. Mark Lee
THE BALLAD OF THE HARP WEAVER (2015)
Written for the fabulous Juice Vocal Ensemble (Kerry Andrews, Sarah Dacey, Anna Snow) as part of their "Snow Queens" season.
A beautiful poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay about poverty, music and a mother's love....sit back and listen to a story for a winter's evening.....
Recorded live at Kingston Arts, with thanks to Juice.
Written for the fabulous Juice Vocal Ensemble (Kerry Andrews, Sarah Dacey, Anna Snow) as part of their "Snow Queens" season.
A beautiful poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay about poverty, music and a mother's love....sit back and listen to a story for a winter's evening.....
Recorded live at Kingston Arts, with thanks to Juice.
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THOSE THINGS THREE (2015)
A new Christmas Carol based on a medieval poem sometimes known as the "Adult Lullaby", set for SATB choir and piano/organ including the wise words; "Ever have mind in your heart of those things three, Whence thou comest, What thou art and What shall come of thee" I am delighted to announce it was awarded first prize from a very strong shortlist by Judith Weir (Master of the Queen's Music) and Stephen Jackson (Director of the BBC Symphony Chorus) in The Ray Bardsley Carol Competition. The video is of the Dorking Choral Society (cond. Hilary Campbell) giving it's second performance after the adjudication. Go to my YouTube Channel. |
PIED PIPER (2015)
Commissioned by The Ferio Saxophone Quartet for their tour of The Channel Islands November 2015, PIED PIPER is intended as a stand alone performance piece but also a piece that can be used in a compositional workshop context.
The main PIPER theme is a very recognisable motif that is used in various ways to tell the story, with the other instruments also creating musical characters using some elements of space and movement such as the Piper (Soprano Sax) starting in the audience, (and costume if Ellie on Alto Sax gets her way!).
The piece can be deconstructed in ways appropriate to any age group from early years to post-16 and there is a resource pack for each age group. However it is not dumbed down and "written for children".
Workshops typically last 1 to 1.5 hours and include a performance piece as introduction to the quartet and their individual instruments followed by a first performance of PIED PIPER. The piece is then deconstructed by telling the story and looking in an age appropriate and interactive way at the compositional techniques used, illustrated with musical examples throughout. PIED PIPER is then played again, followed by a Q & A session and a closing piece.
The workshops can be combined with a concert.
Please contact me or Ferio Saxophone Quartet for more details.
Commissioned by The Ferio Saxophone Quartet for their tour of The Channel Islands November 2015, PIED PIPER is intended as a stand alone performance piece but also a piece that can be used in a compositional workshop context.
The main PIPER theme is a very recognisable motif that is used in various ways to tell the story, with the other instruments also creating musical characters using some elements of space and movement such as the Piper (Soprano Sax) starting in the audience, (and costume if Ellie on Alto Sax gets her way!).
The piece can be deconstructed in ways appropriate to any age group from early years to post-16 and there is a resource pack for each age group. However it is not dumbed down and "written for children".
Workshops typically last 1 to 1.5 hours and include a performance piece as introduction to the quartet and their individual instruments followed by a first performance of PIED PIPER. The piece is then deconstructed by telling the story and looking in an age appropriate and interactive way at the compositional techniques used, illustrated with musical examples throughout. PIED PIPER is then played again, followed by a Q & A session and a closing piece.
The workshops can be combined with a concert.
Please contact me or Ferio Saxophone Quartet for more details.
ROOKWOOD CANTICLE (2013)
Broadcast BBC Radio 3 December 2013 "The Choir"
First Performance November 2013 University Church Oxford by St. Margaret's Choir - cond. Richard Goodall, soloist Carol Goodall.
Commissioned for "Writing for Voices" by John Armitage Memorial Trust (Ed Armitage) as part of Britten in Oxford, with Nicholas Cleobury, Judith Bingham, Giles Swayne, David Harsent and Ruth Padel.
Poem by the extraordinarily talented poet Matt Haw, based on "The Rooks Return" by Alexei Savrasov, and the concept of light coming from darkness, "de tenebris splendeat lux".
First Performance November 2013 University Church Oxford by St. Margaret's Choir - cond. Richard Goodall, soloist Carol Goodall.
Commissioned for "Writing for Voices" by John Armitage Memorial Trust (Ed Armitage) as part of Britten in Oxford, with Nicholas Cleobury, Judith Bingham, Giles Swayne, David Harsent and Ruth Padel.
Poem by the extraordinarily talented poet Matt Haw, based on "The Rooks Return" by Alexei Savrasov, and the concept of light coming from darkness, "de tenebris splendeat lux".
WAR SONGS (2015)
1. Here are the wounds
2. Sweet Mists
3. Sacrifice
Chloe Stopa-Hunt was another of the selected poets for JAM's “Writing for Voices” and worked with Alison on the “War Songs”. Both were inspired by the centenary of the start of the First World War, and shared ideas about a
Lamb of God/ lambs to the slaughter collocation. As Chloe says “I think that fundamentally I love doubled meanings and the exploitation of ambiguities, which is why those two senses of lamb are so potent and so effective.”
Musically the songs are rooted in tonality, but with harmonic twists that work with the challenging imagery contained within the text to create a sense of unease. The first, “Here are the wounds” opens with dark cluster chords and references to the communion that eventually resolve to the major. “Sweet Mists” begins with a whistle like motif, building to a desperate cry of “Waken” then falls to “Bone white lambs grazing on the fields of Passchendaele”. The final song “Sacrifice” is more tonal in feel, once again referencing the Christian communion, “I give my body and my blood”, reprising elements of earlier themes before resolving to the closing phrase “and the sun sings on and on all night”.
The men that fought in the First World War were real people, our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers and these songs are intended to honour their suffering and sacrifice.
2. Sweet Mists
3. Sacrifice
Chloe Stopa-Hunt was another of the selected poets for JAM's “Writing for Voices” and worked with Alison on the “War Songs”. Both were inspired by the centenary of the start of the First World War, and shared ideas about a
Lamb of God/ lambs to the slaughter collocation. As Chloe says “I think that fundamentally I love doubled meanings and the exploitation of ambiguities, which is why those two senses of lamb are so potent and so effective.”
Musically the songs are rooted in tonality, but with harmonic twists that work with the challenging imagery contained within the text to create a sense of unease. The first, “Here are the wounds” opens with dark cluster chords and references to the communion that eventually resolve to the major. “Sweet Mists” begins with a whistle like motif, building to a desperate cry of “Waken” then falls to “Bone white lambs grazing on the fields of Passchendaele”. The final song “Sacrifice” is more tonal in feel, once again referencing the Christian communion, “I give my body and my blood”, reprising elements of earlier themes before resolving to the closing phrase “and the sun sings on and on all night”.
The men that fought in the First World War were real people, our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers and these songs are intended to honour their suffering and sacrifice.
IN COMMENDATION OF MUSICK (2011)
First performance Chichester 2012 (The Chantry Quire).
A setting of a poem by William Strode (1602-1645), suggesting that the soul consists of harmony. I like that idea.
In memory of my father, Vincent Atherfold Dewberry.
A setting of a poem by William Strode (1602-1645), suggesting that the soul consists of harmony. I like that idea.
In memory of my father, Vincent Atherfold Dewberry.
PRELUDE AND FUGUE No. 1 (2015)
Written for the restoration of The Moot Hall Organ in Colchester and first performed there by Weston Jennings (Concert Organist and Festival Hall Organ Scholar) in
June 2015.
June 2015.
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ANTIPHON FOR ST. MICHAEL (2013)
First performance Bournemouth Symphony Chorus (cond. Gavin Carr) 2013
Latin Text from Revelations 12:7 telling the story of St. Michael and the Dragon. Possibly a bit challenging....
but fun.
Latin Text from Revelations 12:7 telling the story of St. Michael and the Dragon. Possibly a bit challenging....
but fun.
SCHERZOPHRENIC (1988)
1988 Premiere at Purcell Room, London Sinfonietta cond. George Benjamin (SPNM)
(Flute, Clarinet, Cello, Piano, Tuned Percussion)
(Flute, Clarinet, Cello, Piano, Tuned Percussion)