Waves of Song
lyrics by renowned poet Ian McMillan
This piece is the first fruits of the Composer-In-Residence scheme with Hull Choral Union. It is a setting of “Waves of Song”, a poem commissioned by Hull Choral Union and written by Ian McMillian who very kindly gave me permission to use it.
Waves of Song received its world premiere on Armistice Day 2021 in the magnificent surroundings of Hull Minster with a 28-piece orchestra. Receiving a standing ovation, it was the headline work for Hull Choral Union’s first live concert since the pandemic and was performed alongside ‘Fauré: Requiem’ and ‘Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man.’ The concert was attended by local dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Kingston-Upon-Hull.
The poem draws upon Hull’s maritime history and speaks of the power and light of communal singing that was so sorely missed during the pandemic. Very fitting for a triumphant return to singing!
The music ebbs and flows, like the Humber estuary laps at the foreshore. It never settles in a one key for very long just as the sea never settles. The repeated cluster chord motif of “Hear Our Voices” is like an endless mesmerising procession of waves.
The climax of the piece “To somewhere bright…” shimmers like the brightness that singing can bring to our lives.