For Ever Singing as they Shine
(2015)3(III=picc).2.corA.2.2.dbn-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(3):glsp/marimba/SD/BD/cyms/susp.cym/susp.sizzle.cym/tam-t-harp.pft(=cel)-strings
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Boosey & Hawkes
A spectacular concert piece which positions the organ at the centre of a cosmos of sound. The title refers to a well-known English hymn from the Middle Ages in which the planets celebrate the creator of the universe. Holloway denotes the planets with succinct motives and the organ radiates like the sun.
"The hymn For Ever Singing as they Shine from the English Enlightenment era, which refers to the planets, was the inspiration for this lucid work… The six part score is shaped in an artful reversed image – from an ear-piercing dissonant tutti outburst at the opening to a mighty crescendo at the end… The solo part demonstrates a clear turning away from traditional religious organ writing through the composer’s juxtaposition of the irrational noise of the universe with reasoned thought."
Recklinghäuser Zeitung
"This agile concertante for organ and orchestra provided the exciting highpoint to the concert. Holloway’s reflections on the firmament were dominated by the sacred sound of the organ which set the stars and planets dancing and shining, with a dissonant Big Bang marking the start and end of the work."
Westfälische Allgemeine Zeitung