OWAIN PARK Footsteps
JOBY TALBOT Path of Miracles
TENEBRAE CHOIR
Director NIGEL SHORT Soprano NATALIE CLIFTON-GRIFFITH SOPHIE GALLAGHER JOANNA L ’ ESTRANGE BETHANY PARTRIDGE KATIE TRETHEWEY Alto TIM CARLESTON MARK CHAMBERS HANNAH COOKE TOM LILBURN Tenor BEN ALDEN NICHOLAS MADDEN TOM ROBSON CHRISTOPHER WATSON Bass JIMMY HOLLIDAY STEPHEN KENNEDY ADRIAN PEACOCK RICHARD SAVAGE SIMON WHITELEY
Path of Miracles Written by Joby Talbot and Robert Dickinson Published by Chester Music By kind permission of the Music Sales Group
Path of Miracles was premiered at the City of London Festival in July 2005 , performed by Tenebrae , conducted by Nigel Short and directed by Ceri Sherlock . Tenebrae would very much like to register its lasting gratitude to the late Barbara Pollock for the commission of Path of Miracles , and Leroy and Fran Harvey for all their assistance at the time .
CREATOR NOTE
Tenebrae entered the musical landscape 15 years ago as a choir deeply committed to presentation , as a complement to its unmistakable sound : the varied use of light , both natural and artificial , and the imaginative orientation of singers within a variety of sacred spaces have become hallmarks of the Tenebrae philosophy . It is appropriate therefore , as the choir reaches this notable landmark , that they should return to the piece that most profoundly encapsulated this philosophy in the group ’ s early days — with fresh eyes , ideas , and voices — and pair it with the music of a composer who will unquestionably help to define the sound of British choral music over the next fifteen years . Joby Talbot ’ s modern masterpiece , Path of Miracles , first performed in the traumatic aftermath of the July 7 bombs of 2005 which forced the cancellation of the originally scheduled premiere , is here paired with Owain Park ’ s newly commissioned Footsteps .
FOOTSTEPS
Footsteps cycles the seasons through the eyes of a lonely traveller who is constantly being moved on before being allowed to settle , finding comfort only in the sky and stars above .
The narrative of Footsteps is a fusion of texts by eight different authors , five of whom contribute to the introduction of the work . On Leaving by Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda is a sonnet reflecting on the author ’ s move from Cuba to Spain . “ Sea Pearl ” could be describing the author ’ s homeland , but here , when fused with “ the wanderer ’ s guiding star ” ( E . Brontë ), such a phrase alludes to the moon . The work opens with rising and falling elongated phrases in the upper parts of the semi-chorus being imitated in the main choir creating an initially sparse , meandering texture which gradually builds , expectant of what is to come .
Following the introduction , the main choir enters with energetic statements in the upper voices , proclaiming “ I praise the disk of the rising sun ” whilst the lower voices announce in a choralelike declaration “ Where every bird is bold to go ” ( E . Dickinson ). Gradually the upper voice movement subsides , making way for the alto solo “ Time to leave , the eager crew to wrench me from my earth ” which is then imitated in the semi-chorus , surrounded by sirening sopranos and underpinned by a drone in the lower voices .
The semi-chorus now take over and lead us into autumn . The traveller is disturbed by the wind ( which we will hear later reflected in the piece by the fallen cherry blossoms ), being alone and exposed to the elements . We are wrenched out of this gentle lull by a miniature fugue inspired by William Walton which sets the first verse of Thomas Hardy ’ s poem , The Year ’ s Awakening . References to the “ pilgrim track ” and “ belting zodiac ” charge us forward with driving momentum , yet this seemingly set course is quickly undone as single pitch repeating rhythms begin to pervade the texture , around which three-part harmonies weave .
These harmonies head downwards residing on a mixed major-minor chord , reminiscent of the soundworld of Path of Miracles , as Gabriel Crouch notes , “ the insistent discords of the second movement reflect ... the hardships of the road .” A questioning lone countertenor concludes this section with an unresolved melody and the semi-chorus bid “ farewell ” to autumn with a wistful , yearning interjection .
The melody of the next section is dominated by the tri-tone , the devil ’ s interval , as the wind once again returns . This angular melody builds from the low basses upwards , the gusts of wind being captured by flowing quaver phrases and unsettled diminished fifth harmonies , which only finally resolve on the word “ midnight ”. As the moonlight shines on St . Paul ’ s , we hear echoes of the opening melody of the work , the leaping seventh prominent alongside distant non-harmony notes .
A bass soloist intrudes on this reverie with a second exclamation of “ Time to leave ” which is again imitated by the semi-chorus . However , no sooner has this repeated section begun than the music takes a different path and turns inwards , retreating to an intimate and delicate sound-world for “ The cherry blossoms ”. Tinged with sadness , descending chords in the main choir are refuted by a soaring soprano soloist , who concludes this section with her own rendition of the main theme .
“ Holy paths ” pays homage to John Tavener ’ s The Veil of the Temple in its scale , scope and unrelenting praise for the divine . A little of his language features in the climax of this section , as parallel chords with scalic melodies form the bedrock around which quavers flow in contrary motion . Unworldly harmonies for “ ceilings of diamonds ” lead into the recapitulation , where the “ pearl bowers ” transform to the “ sea pearl ”.
As the opening ideas return we recognise that all is not as it was , with clustered harmonies suggesting that our traveller has been through changing weathers and is now changed . Unresolved dominant sevenths underpin the final phrases as the work draws to a close , and we are left with the image of the traveller ’ s footsteps ever-continuing .
— OWAIN PARK