O

Choral level of difficulty: Level 2 (5 greatest)

Another spiritual journey here but always with something fresh to say. A mostly very straightforward piece with almost Lotti Crucifixus-like suspensions in its early and latter phrases. The string parts are mostly sustained or pizzicato and there is a quietly luminous moment for the strings at ‘a light has shone’ which is where the trumpet makes its first appearance. The middle section (purely set to the letter ‘O’) is marginally more challenging mostly because of the slightly more complex rhythm. The final section sees a return of the opening choral material accompanied differently. A successful performance needs a balanced group of upper voices, a confident trumpeter and a fair number of strings as the music divides at one point into 14 parts.

Repertoire note by Paul Spicer