Threshold of Night (a setting one of Kathleen Raine's Three Poems of Incarnation) was commissioned by St John’s College Cambridge and was premièred under the direction of David Hill in the College chapel on 25th November 2006. Written for Advent the work aims to highlight the yearning that all societies have in their time of need for guidance from beyond their community. By coincidence however this composition was completed on the eve of 29th August 2006 one year after Hurricane Katrina one of the deadliest in the history of the United States made landfall in Louisiana. Looking at Raine’s words in this context (‘Go back my child to the rain and storm’ ‘I will not go back for sorrow or pain’) the poem can be seen to echo the conflicted and anguished thoughts of displaced New Orleanians. The original Advent sense ofdesired guidance takes on a specific if unintentional significance with regards to the tragic outcome of that hurricane; this is emphasized by the bluesinflectedharmonies found throughout Threshold of Night.

Tal Vez Tenemos Tiempo (Maybe We Have Time) is O’Regan’s first work setting text in Spanish for which the composer has chosen quite a homophonic setting and harmonic clarity. His work incorporates tonal modal minimalism jazz and African influences though in this work modality and tonality are powerfully in evidence.Contemporary British composer Tarik O’Regan divides his time between New York City and Cambridge England composing as well as writing and speaking about music in print and on radio. His works range from chamber pieces and Choral compositions to chamber opera and full-length ballet. He was nominated for two Grammy awards in 2009 forhis album Threshold of Night and his reputation continues to grow.