#1daywithoutus

Today was the One Day Without Us National Day of Action to celebrate the contributions migrants make to the UK. For me, it was more a day of inaction; the past week has been very busy, and I have been out every evening for the last five nights at either rehearsals or social appointments, which left me more than a bit deflated today. It has been busy in other ways, too. I had a few ideas that will...

A quiet week

This past week has been relatively quiet. I finished a paper draft of a piece I'm working on for a Canadian competition, and made some decisions about applying for a choral conducting job. I did get started on some reading, though I need to do more to build up momentum there. I scheduled my next trip to Aberdeen, which I'm looking forward to a lot. I also found out that the two hymns I submitted...

Candlemas week

That was quite a week... I started on Sunday with the University of London Church Choir singing my Nunc Dimittis as part of the Candlemas service at St Mary's, Eversholt Street. It's the first time I've heard or been involved in a live performance of that piece, though it's been online for two years and I know it was performed in Edinburgh in November by Voces Inauditae. I also visited St Mary's...

Footdee

This is a hymn I wrote last time I was in Aberdeen; or was it last time but one? I'm not sure; but I know I was looking at the sea when I wrote it. I've used a paraphrase of verses from Psalm 107 (the bit that starts" they that go down to the sea in ships") by Isaac Watts, but of course as with any hymn tune you could use a different set of Long Metre words and they'd fit. PDF with text of first...

What I’ve been up to

The year 2016 was quite a year for me, with a number of challenges and changes. The biggest change of all was going on a sabbatical (unpaid) from my post as Director of Music (or organist, or whatever you want to call it) at St Andrew's Leytonstone, and starting a PhD in contemporary sacred choral composition at the University of Aberdeen. I won't do a long review of the year here; but as is...

Talvilaulu — Song of the Winter

In 2015, I had the enjoyable experience of attending the Anglo Nordic Baltic Theological Conference, in Turku, Finland. Participants presented informal papers by day, and in the evening there was food, sauna, talk and not a little bit of wine. One thing led to another, and I ended up asking Rupert Moreton, of Lingua Fennica, whether there was any public domain poetry he'd like to translate and...

Whose voice, and which wilderness?

I was dismayed to read the Rt Revd Philip North's article in the Church times on Friday, "Heeding the voices of the popular revolution." He begins well, stating "We need to hear the voices of the poor." I wouldn't dream of disagreeing. But then the Bishop of Burnley makes the same mistake as a number of other commentators: assuming that the votes for Brexit, and the votes for Donald Trump, came...

Yantantessera

I'm very pleased to make available my setting of TJA Thurman's poem, "Yantantessera". One fine dark night with a fine dark sky And fine-sliced moon so bright, A Cat leapt forth with a fine black coat And paws of moonlit white; If I should ask you to say her name I'm sure you'd tell me that She's Yantantessera, Tessera, Tessera, Tessera Tessera, Cat. She had no humans, she had no home, She had no...

What I learned from Morten Lauridsen

Last week, American composer Morten Lauridsen was composer-in-residence at the University of Aberdeen, where I am studying choral composition. Over the course of the week I heard him speak at the Composers' Forum and at two concerts, as well as having a 45-minute personal tutorial. Dr Lauridsen and I come from very different backgrounds musically. He has been an academic for his entire career,...

November Patron Drive

I've commissioned this lovely piece of artwork from Arkady Rose: All new supporters at my Patreon page during the month of November will get a copy of this in postcard format (unless you don't give me your address, obviously). Further, patrons at the $5 level will be sent a new postcard quarterly, and at $10 and $15 will be sent multiple copies -- one with a message for you, and one or more to...