SKU: HL.49045022

ISBN 9790001154277. UPC: 841886027794.

The formal structure of this organ chorale with solo clarinet follows a Jewish death prayer. The solo clarinet represents the chant of the traditional prayer leader while the organ plays the response of the congregation of the synagogue. The piece ends with a cadenza of the solo clarinet to which an optional organ improvisation can be added.Barbara Heller dedicated this chorale to the memory of Elke Mascha Blankenburg (1943-2013). Talking about her before the first performance, the composer said: 'She was open-hearted with a really tender soul, very trusting. Her creativity knew no limits; she was also an almost fanatical campaigner for music by women. In the music you will hear now I have attempted to convey some aspects of her personality: charming, loving, obstinate, committed, volatile, tragic, crazy, untamed, tender and anguished.' The various sections of this chorale may be performed in a correspondingly contrasting manner: searching, hesitant, visionary, focused, volatile, accusatory, hopeful, etc., with use of rubato and powerful contrasts in dynamic and tone quality.

SKU: GI.G-8927

UPC: 785147892700. English. Text Source: The Book of Common Prayer, 1928: 1. Psalm 9:1–2, 10, alt., 2. Psalm 121:1–2, 7–8, alt., 3. Psalm 104:1, 31, alt. Scripture: Psalm 9:1–2, 10, Psalm 121:1–2, 7–8, Psalm 104:1, 31.

With texts extracted from the psalmody of The Book of Common Prayer, this small trio offers a distinct mood for each song: majestic, calm, and joyful. They could be used individually during religious services or as an ideal concert grouping.

SKU: HL.49046391

ISBN 9781540086549. UPC: 842819108696.

The general inspiration for the music was an idea of Durham, garnered from two or three short visits and a reading of a short history - so a sort of Durham of the mind, a stylized Durham; 'my' Durham, if you will, imagined into music. However, the defininginspiration for the piece was the Cathedral. My first visit to Durham in 2001 saw me standing open-mouthed on Palace Green, and then in silent awe as I walked into that formidable magnificence inside. Most of the themes came from the days immediately following my first experience of this extraordinary, inspiring building. The feeling that the very stones and pillars themselves are imbued with centuries of prayer, withpeople's joy, grief, despair, even anger; gratitude and hope. As the tunes and chords and sounds started to organize themselves in my mind and onto manuscript paper, I realized that I was writing a sort of day in the life of Durham, and that the Cathedral wouldbe its beginning, would be in its middle, and would be at its ending. The piece consists of six 'pictures' arranged into three parts - the morning, afternoon and evening of this imaginary Durham city. Jon Lord, 2017.