Angelus ad Virginem (2022)

I was delighted to be asked by Daniel Hyde and King’s College, Cambridge to write this year’s commission for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. I have chosen to set a familiar text and tune - Angelus ad Virginem - and for it to serve as a tribute to the late great Simon Preston CBE (chorister and later organ scholar at King’s). The text suggests something descriptive and exuberant, and this arrangement makes use of the original 13th century carol throughout. A colourful organ part is designed to propel the music forward, sometimes twisting and distorting the melody in unexpected ways, hopefully reflecting something of Simon’s wit, vitality and stylish energy.

MM, 2022.