Gloria (2020)
from Missa Borealis
A setting of the Greater Doxology
Solo Baritone, SATB, Two Percussion & Two Pianos (or Solo Baritone, SATB & Orchestra)
Duration:
10′
First performance (two-piano version):
8 October 2023
The Cumnock Tryst Festival Chorus, Andy McTaggart (baritone), Musicians from the RCS, conducted by Eamonn Dougan at the Barony Hall, Cumnock, Ayrshire, UK
First performance (orchestral version):
31 March 2025
Ayr Choral Union, Andy McTaggart (baritone), Caledonian Consort, conducted by Jenna Martin at Ayr Town Hall, Ayrshire, UK
English premiere (two-piano version):
15 June 2024
Thomas Tallis Society Choir, Tyler Hay & Jack Redman (pianos), conducted by Eamonn Dougan at St Alfege Church, Greenwich, UK
Score
Programme note
My setting of the Gloria was written during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and what I imagined might initially be an introspective and melancholy work actually turned out to be one of my most ebullient and colourful pieces, spurred on by this unusual and percussive collection of instruments. The piece combines three distinct types of music, which all jostle for attention and prominence in the ten-minute duration. The first is declamatory and static, with the solo baritone orating dramatically beneath sustained metallic clangs. The second is smoother and more modal, moving obliquely from an opening tone. The final music is what dominates, colourful tableaus which are often quicker in tempo with piquant chromaticisms puncturing the harmonic backdrop.
PAC
