It was a genuine gift to be asked to write this piece for the wedding of Barney, my brother to his wife, Libby in 2022. The wedding took place in Cambridge just after Christmas and was a moving, joyous and beautiful occasion. The choir was wonderful - formed of singers from VOCES8, Apollo5 and other UK ensembles, with Eamonn Dougan and Robert Hollingworth conducting. With other premieres written for the wedding by Taylor Scott Davis and Eric Whitacre, and the baptism of my nephew, Orlando also taking place in the ceremony, it was an event that will live long in our memories.

This piece is very much written as a 'miniature', a moment for thought, reflection and beauty. I presented Barney and Libby with a number of choices for the text and was thrilled when they chose this beautiful poem by Hafiz. As you sing the piece, you can look both for the moments of space and calm, and for the moments where the music can flow and soar. In particular, I'd encourage you to give wings to the music in bar 34, before finishing with that most magical and important of words: ‘Love'.

Difficulty | Easy - The textures and harmony are fairly simple but flexibility and care are required by both singers and director to draw the most out of the work.

SATB

Scroll to the bottom for a video of VOCES8 performing the piece.

Price £20 per 20 copies