The Festival Anthem I saw the Lord (2012) is a setting of words from Isaiah Ch 6, some of which are perhaps better known in the context of the great Victorian anthem by John Stainer. This Trinitarian/Dedication text (starting with the words in the year that King Uzziah died) is both powerful and full of dramatic imagery - flying seraphim, live coals, cries of the Tersanctus - as well as containing darker and more reflective passages. Although through-composed, this piece, written for Daniel Cook and St Davids Cathedral Choir, is divided loosely into five sections. The first few bars declaim the opening sentence in solemn tones - all parts sing a unison B natural over a passacaglia-like pedal motif which appears in different guises throughout the work. This leads into a faster and more agitated section depicting the six-winged seraphim together with their cries of Holy, Holy, Holy. These cries contain the opening of the plainsong Sanctus from Mass XI - Orbis factor. Following on from this, a more sombre and reflective section dealing with the despairing Woe is me, for I an undone - scored for tenor solo. The seraphim then interject again with a dramatic passage (similar in style to that in section 2) powering inevitably towards the climax of the work: And thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged. The piece concludes with a hushed, repeated invocation: Here am I; send me with the organ echoing the rising seventh motifs heard at the start - in prayerful contemplation. 30-Licence Download This is a choral download sold with a licence to make up to 30 copies.
