• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

A NOTE FROM NIGEL SHORT FOOTSTEPS OWAIN PARK Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles has provided Of the younger generation of talented composers Tenebrae with something unique both musically in the UK Owain Park has already made a PATH OF MIRACLES and vocally and, in turn, something distinctive name for himself with some beautiful choral JOBY TALBOT for our audiences in terms of a concert works. In creating Footsteps Owain has achieved experience. This inspiring work draws on all our goal of giving choirs of all abilities the the qualities which I aim for in a Tenebrae opportunity to come and sing with Tenebrae performance and it is why we have chosen to in concert. There are still technical challenges re-release Path of Miracles, together with a new for all of us, but both Tenebrae and its partner commission, to mark our fifteenth-anniversary choir have moments of great harmonic beauty 1 Footsteps Owain Park [16.56] season. On many occasions I was asked by and stillness contrasting with music that featuring the Fellows of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain members of our audiences who were keen drives relentlessly forward with rhythmic amateur singers if there was anything like energy and drama that will surely captivate Path of Miracles Joby Talbot Path of Miracles that they could try – but new audiences for many years to come. We 2 Roncesvalles [17.23] that wasn’t perhaps quite so technically had a wonderful time discovering Footsteps, 3 Burgos [15.04] challenging – I had to honestly say there rehearsing and then recording it with the 4 Leon [11.45] wasn’t anything I knew of. And so an opportunity fantastic Fellows of the National Youth Choirs 5 Santiago [18.13] arose to commission someone to provide us of Great Britain. I hope you enjoy listening with something inspired by Joby’s choral to, and indeed singing, this new significant Total timings: [79.22] extravaganza, but that would be totally new addition to the ever-growing repertoire of and offered the chance for any singer to great British choral music. take part in a performance of a new work alongside Tenebrae. TENEBRAE NIGEL SHORT CONDUCTOR www.signumrecords.com - 3 - A NOTE FROM OWAIN PARK FOOTSTEPS of the stanza, “Must thrust the tears away” spring”. The questioning lone countertenor in the lower voices. An alto soloist introduces concludes this section, with an unresolved I was delighted to be asked by Nigel to write a The narrative for Footsteps is a fusion of the “Time to leave” section, accompanied melody that contains the opening of the main piece for Tenebrae to be performed alongside texts by eight different authors, five of whom by a drone in the lower voices. The simple, fugue theme. The semi-chorus bid “Farewell” Path of Miracles. Tenebrae’s recording of contribute to the introduction of the work. direct melody is imitated by the semi-chorus, to Autumn with an interjection comprising Joby’s piece is one of my absolute favourites; On Leaving by Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda joined by high sopranos sirening above the tune. sad, romantic harmonies. I remember being bowled over by the is a sonnet reflecting on the author’s moving instrumental quality of the opening and from Cuba to Spain; “Sea Pearl” could be The semi-chorus now take over and lead us The devil’s interval of a tritone outlines the the combination of ancient chant with the describing the author’s homeland, but here, into Autumn. The traveller is slightly disturbed melody for the next section, as the wind returns. composer’s own modern voice. When I met when fused with “the wanderer’s guiding by the wind (reflected later in the piece by Counterpoint builds up from the low basses, with Nigel we spoke about the possibilities for star” (E. Brontë) alludes to the moon. Longer the fallen cherry blossoms), being alone and capturing the weather in flowing compound this new work; it would need to be much phrases which rise and fall in the upper parts exposed to the elements. After this gentle time quavers. A more gentle section ensues, shorter than Path of Miracles, but hopefully of the semi-chorus are imitated more quickly lull, a mini-fugue inspired by Walton opens with lilting leaves gently falling, as the contain many complimentary themes, namely in the main choir. the first verse of Thomas Hardy’s poem, The tritone transforms from a pivot point to the travel, solitude and journeying. Footsteps is Year’s Awakening. References to the “pilgrim raised fourth in a major scale. The chords are the result of many months of researching After the introduction, the narrative changes track” and “belting zodiac” give this forward not grounded as root positions, and so the texts to structure a narrative that cycles the to the first person. The Sun originates from momentum, which only later becomes questioning. harmony is not allowed to completely settle seasons through the view of a lonely traveller Sanskrit Poetry, compiled around 1100 by a Repeating rhythms on a single pitch return, until the open fifth on “midnight”. As the who is constantly being moved on before being Buddhist scholar, Vidyakara, and was written around which three-part harmonies weave. moonlight shines on St. Paul’s, the melody allowed to settle, finding comfort in the sky up to 400 years earlier. After an energetic reflects the earlier part of the work, with and stars above. first set of statements from the main choir, Then, sudden outbursts represent rays of the interval of a seventh prominent alongside the first line, “I praise the disk of the rising sunshine bursting through clouds. The repeating distant non-harmony notes. Owain Park sun” is passed around the upper voices in quick rhythms come to rest by heading downwards motion as “Where every bird is bold to go” to reside on a mixed major-minor chord. As The second “Time to leave” section is in a (E. Dickinson) is sung to slower rhythms in Gabriel Crouch notes about Path of Miracles, lower key than the first, and is initially sung the lower voices. There is a sudden change in “The insistent discords of the second by a bass soloist over a low bass drone. The texture for “The foreigner before he knocks”, movement reflect...the hardships of the semi-chorus repeat the material, with the as the movement stops and two parts are road”. These chords are briefly used in a short sopranos extending upwards before retreating left hovering above, highlighting the last line quotation before reverting back on “tinct of to a new harmony for “The cherry blossoms”, - 4 - - 5 - a particularly evocative and beautiful text, A Note from Joby Talbot I’d heard that day, and that never had I been so PATH OF MIRACLES tinged with sadness. Four-part chords with confident and excited before the premiere of a a descending contour in the main choir are It’s been twelve years since Tenebrae brought big new piece. The next day, however, London The world’s most enduring route of Catholic refuted by an upward-moving soprano soloist, Path of Miracles to life for the first time and, ground to a halt. Ambulance sirens wailed pilgrimage was first formally acknowledged who concludes with her own rendition of the though I’ve had many wonderful and exciting and police helicopters whirred overhead before as such by Bishop Diego Gelmirez in the early main theme. compositional adventures since then, I can an unreal, numbing silence descended. With 12th Century, but it has always belonged to honestly say that nothing has come close to the entire centre of town cordoned off, public a wider fellowship even than the Catholic As the work begins to come to a close, the the experience of hearing this extraordinary transport suspended, and all flights diverted church. Long before the body of St James music for the “Holy paths” pays homage to choir perform my music. I say ‘my music’ but away from the city, the only sound I could hear was discovered in Iria Flavia in the early 9th John Tavener and his work The Veil of the really it’s their music now…and the music of from my publishers’ office in Soho where I Century, and brought to its final resting place Temple – its scale and scope with unrelenting all the other choirs and audiences around the waited to hear whether the premiere would go in Santiago; before the Saint even began his praise for the divine. A little of his language world who have performed and listened to the ahead, was the distant tolling of Big Ben, normally life of service, first as an apostle, and later features in the climax of this section, as parallel piece. Its continuing success is in no small part inaudible under the roar of the busy metropolis. as a preacher in Spain, the ‘Camino Frances’ chords with consonant scalic melodies form the thanks to the commitment of Signum Records was under construction. Part of the route still bedrock around which flow quavers in contrary who captured this unique recording just days The recording sessions had been scheduled for runs along the sturdy Roman roads which were motion. Unworldly harmonies for “ceilings of after the original premiere had been postponed the following weekend, however, and now the used to subdue and colonise northern Iberia. To diamonds” lead into the recapitulation, as the as a result of the terrible London bombings of atmosphere in the room was more complicated. the pre-Christians, this road followed the path “pearl bowers” transform to the “sea pearl”.

Load more

  17

Copy Link