A recording of my latest piece for chamber orchestra, performed the London Young Sinfonia at the St Marylebone Festival 2017

"No lily-muffled hum of a summer-bee,
But finds some coupling with the spinning stars;
No pebble at your foot, but proves a sphere;
No chaffinch, but implies the cherubim;
And (glancing on my own thin, veinèd wrist),
In such a little tremor of the blood
The whole strong clamour of a vehement soul
Doth utter itself distinct. Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God."

This work is inspired by a line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh. The poem reveals Barrett Browning’s belief in the immanence of God in even the smallest parts of His creation, and of the abundance of heavenly things in the natural world. I present the line of poetry within the context of a paean or hymn of praise, seeking to explore the connection between Barratt Browning’s intense religious fervour and the more pantheistic visions of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, with which this work was first performed. To this end my composition assigns clearly differentiated musical material to
‘earth’ and ‘heaven’, but explores the connections between the two, demonstrating that ultimately they are both woven from the same musical fabric. The bright, sustained harmony and lyrical melody at the beginning and end of the work reflect Barratt Browning’s quietly restrained joy in her belief of God’s all-encompassing presence.

Paean: "earth's crammed with heaven"

Performed in an orchestral workshop at the Royal Academy of Music, January 2019. Conductor: Christopher Austin.

Auto-da-Fé / 2018

Composer, conductor
Music Director of Waterperry Opera Festival and Assistant Conductor of Colorado Symphony
Published by Stainer & Bell
Commissions from St Paul's Cathedral and the Royal Philharmonic Society
Prizes in the Britten Sinfonia Composition Competition 2015, BBC Young Composers' Competition 2013, National Centre for Early Music Composition Competition 2011

Paean: "earth's crammed with heaven"

Bertie Baigent

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