Music Text
TBC
Abbreviations (PDF)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes
for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
17/03/2025
Croydon Minster, London
The Sixteen / Harry Christophers
Composer's Notes
Orbits is a musical setting of the poem I Live My Life In Growing Orbits by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, in translation by the American poet Robert Bly. It has been a joy to explore these words and imagery through music, written specifically for The Sixteen as part of their Choral Pilgrimage 2025 tour.
I live my life in growing orbits
which move out over the things of the world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt.
I am circling around God, around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for a thousand years,
and I still don’t know if I am a falcon, or a storm,
or a great song.
—Anna Clyne
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