Choral & Vocal

17 Days
for SATB chorus, children's choir, brass, percussion & piano (duration: 40 min)

Commissioned by Crouch End Festival Chorus.
World premiere: 5 February 2012, Barbican Hall, London.

17 Days - an introduction: From the beginning I was certain that I didn't want 17 Days to be a narrative work, simply retelling the details of the Chilean miner's story wasn't what interested me. I knew that to create an engaging piece of music I would need to find poems which dealt with the emotions that the miners and their families would have experienced during the 17 day period of terrifying uncertainty. And as I watched the miners return to the surface live on television I could clearly see that there was both a dramatic and musical dynamic to the surging journey up the tunnel to the world above. The focus of the piece is therefore on the bleak and mournful first 17 days of the incident, followed by an ecstatic depiction of the elevator ride up the tunnel.
   It begins with a bright and exultant setting of John (11:25) from the King James Bible. The choir embodies a particularly devout congregation singing a hymn of praise. As the words 'I am the resurrection and the life' are repeated the music becomes introspective and quietly unsettling; a premonition of dark times ahead.
   There follows a musical parody of the TV news coverage, borrowing the staccato rhythmic ostinatos that are the ubiquitous musical backdrop of TV news reports. The children's choir, taking the main melody, assume the dual roles of TV news presenters and observing angels on high, surveying the dramatic scene below.
   The emotional core of the piece is centred on four a cappella settings of poems by Rupert Brooke ('Oh! Death will find me'), Charlotte Mew ('Do dreams lie deeper?' and 'A quoi bon dire') and Carol S. Lashof ('We live in mud'). Emily Dickinson's 'Hope' marks the beginning of the 15-minute musical depiction of the miner's ecstatic journey up the tunnel. The pulsating excitement and momentum builds to a delirious climax which culminates in a return to the kind of congregational singing heard at the beginning of the piece. The words are from Isaiah (26:19): 'Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust. Awake!' This is a true resurrection: families and a community reunited.
   World premiere reviewed in The Independent.The making of 17 Days video: 17 Days

The Stars in their Courses
for three sopranos, mezzo-soprano and clarsach (duration: 4 min)

The first performance was given by Canty (with Bill Taylor on Clarsach) in Glasgow Cathedral on 31st January 2009. Recording available to buy here

From the Song of Solomon
for three sopranos, mezzo-soprano and clarsach (duration: 4 min)

The first performance was given by Canty (with Bill Taylor on Clarsach) at Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, on 22 February 2007. Subsequent performances were given by the same ensemble at St Mary's RC Cathedral, Aberdeen, on 23 February; St Salvator's Chapel, St Andrews University, on 24 February; St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow, on 25 February 2007. This piece has been further performed by Canty at St Peters RC Church, Glasgow, on 22 June 2008 and in the Nave at York Minster as part of the "Afro Saxon Sound Clash" (alongside the world premiere of Two Hadiths by Sir John Tavener) on 23 October 2008. 

Programme Note: From the Song of Solomon (2007) is a setting of Chapter 2, Verses 10-13 of "The Song of Solomon". Although this particular text has been subjected to countless allegorical interpretations throughout its history (most pertinently that of the relationship of the Virgin Mary to God, a reading which was particularly prevalent in the medieval church), I wanted my setting of these verses to reflect the unusual and disarmingly romantic simplicity of the text. "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away". A heartfelt plea, but not a desperate or anxious one, rather a gentle awakening of one's beloved from a deep and peaceful sleep. From the Song of Solomon was composed for, and is dedicated to, Canty.

Parting
for soprano and piano (duration: 3 min)
Commissioned by TangoDuo (Monica Acosta and Julia Kalnobricka). First performance: 13 February, 2008, Burgh House, Hampstead, London, England. Subsequent performance by Gordonstoun Senior Girls' Choir at Gordonstoun School, Scotland, on 28 February 2008.

Earth
for children's choir (duration: 4 min)
Earth is dedicated to the Aberlour House Senior Choir.
The first performance was given by the Aberlour House Senior Choir in the Chapel at Gordonstoun School, Scotland, on 23 November, 2007.

 I shall never fear
for children's choir (duration: 3 min 30 sec)
I shall never fear is dedicated to Charlotte Rombout.

 Opera

Between Two Silences
chamber opera for three sopranos, four cellos and piano
(click on Between Two Silences tab for further details)

Threat Level
chamber opera for 6 soloists and orchestra
commissioned by Scottish Opera 

Librettos by Carol S. Lashof

Orchestral

Sueno's Stone
for piano and orchestra (duration: 8 min)

CHASM
a dance for orchestra (duration: 10 min)

demo: 

Chamber / Solo Instrumental

Ballindalloch
for clarsach (duration: 4 min 40 sec)
commissioned by William Taylor

You
for piano and strings (duration: 4 min)

demo: