Ellis: Carols For An Island Christmas (Vocal Score)

The Last Judgment  is a through-composed symphonic tableau that follows the structure of the text of Matthew 25 : 31-46, underlining it in a figuralistic manner. Other scriptural references are also to be found: an image of the sun that turns dark (Acts of the Apostles 2: 20), and, before the gathering of the nations, twelve chords representing the thrones for the judgment of the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19: 28). The thematic material combines original figures with Gregorian chant: the Gloria from the Missa de Angelis; the Alleluia of the Epiphany; Dies irae, the sequence fromthe Requiem Mass; In paradisum, the burial antiphon. The sections in recitative style follow the declamatory rhythm of the corresponding verses in Arabic, the composer’s mother tongue. Finally, the registration requires a symphonic style organ such as the Goll organ in Memmingen, Germany, at which the composer prepared the orchestral expression of this work