Auden Songs (1973)

My Auden Songs were written in 1974 in response to a commission from the Cardiff Festival. The composition proceeded fluently and the resulting songs are now the earliest work of mine that I feel happy with. At the time of composition I was happily unaware of other settings of these words, in particular Britten’s.

The three stanzas of ‘Warm are the still and lucky miles’ unaccompanied, except in the case of the second stanza by a pedal note, announce, punctuate and conclude the sequence of settings, in this recital is as follows :

1. Warm are the still and lucky miles
5. Driver, drive faster (Calypso)
6. Silence invades the breathing wood (Second stanza of ‘Warm are the still and lucky miles’)
8. Make this night loveable, Moon (Nocturne)
9. Restored! Returned! The lost are borne (Third stanza of ‘Warm are the still and lucky miles’)

Caneuon Gerddi (1999)

Early in 1999 I was commissioned to write a choral work for the opening of the newly restored garden at Aberglasney near Llandeilo, South West Wales. John Trefor, a producer from BBC Wales, assisted me by researching poems by early Welsh writers about gardens. This research was so rich in its results that there were many delightful poems that could not be used for this one commission.

At the same time I was working on a short song cycle, commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams. I was attracted to the simplicity, elegance and timelessness of the ‘garden’ poems and decided to set four as a group for this commission. This was not the first time that I had written music inspired by gardens; my violin work ‘Paradise Haunts . . .’ written in 1995 was written in response to the extraordinary garden of film maker Derek Jarman.

The songs in ‘Caneuon y Gerddi’ are miniatures, fleeting impressions of the highly developed and tranquil world of 16th century aristocratic houses in Wales. Each is built on a simple, minimalistic musical idea.

‘Caneuon y Gerddi’ was commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams with funds made available by the Arts Council of Wales, and was first performed at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff on 18th May 1999.

Mi Gerddaf Gyda Thi (2016)

The beautiful words of this poem by an anonymous author were set by the composer as a surprise wedding gift to his wife Dolly Yang in April 2016. The song was performed by Elinor Bennett during the wedding service. 

I will walk with you though the road be long,
And set forth with a flower, a dream, a song.
I take your hand, look in your eyes and know
I will walk with you anywhere you go.

I will walk with you when the full moon’s light
Is like a lantern in the coldest night.
I promise you my heart, entire and all,
I will walk with you as the shadows fall.

I will walk with you all the years ahead,
On sunlit hills and when the sun has fled.
And when our call is heard, its hour unguessed,
I will walk with you through the lands of rest.

In Time of Daffodils (2006)

In Time of Daffodils evolved in its own particular way. The starting point was a commission from Jeremy Huw Williams to write a short song cycle for voice and piano. Flowers have inspired many poets and there are, in particular, a number of beautiful poems about daffodils. This was a strong enough impulse to pursue the idea but it was also helpful to have such a clear and consistent theme, and the obvious associations with Spring (when the first performance was to be given) and with Wales further encouraged this approach. Having chosen ‘To Daffodils’ by Herrick, ‘To an Early Daffodil’ by Lowell and the famous Wordsworth poem, I was ready to set to work.

In the meantime, a commission had arrived from BBC Radio 3 for an orchestral work to mark my 60th birthday year. It soon became clear that a much more substantial song cycle was possible and three further poems were added – Housman’s ‘The Lent Lily’, the famous prologue to ‘Endymion’ by Keats and a second Amy Lowell poem – ‘White and Green’. 

During this recital, the first three poems have been chosen and they are, on the whole, very well known, especially the Wordsworth – which is perhaps the best known of all poems in English. Housman evokes a compelling image of a lost rustic world while Amy Lowell’s poem contains sensuous imagery and a bright vibrant energy which are evocative of the flower and the time of year. 

The title of the piece is drawn from the first line of a poem by ee cummings (not set).

Under Milk Wood: an opera (2014)

In 1954 Dylan Thomas caused a literary storm with his play for voices, Under Milk Wood. Sixty years on John Metcalf created a ground-breaking new opera recreating Thomas’s world of Llareggub – the town that went mad. Under Milk Wood: an opera – shortlisted for the 2015 International Opera Awards – is John’s seventh opera.  

Under Milk Wood: an opera weaves together extraordinary poetic and comic language, contemporary and ancient instrumental music, recorded and live sound. Its complex and detailed sound world is realised by a 13 -strong company of singers and multi-instrumentalists.

Taliesin Arts Centre (Wales) was the lead partner in the world premiere production. Le Chien Qui Chante (Quebec) and Companion Star (New York) were co-producers and the production was developed in association with Welsh National Opera. The world premiere took place at the Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea on 3 April 2014. The production was directed by Keith Turnbull, and the musical director was Wyn Davies, who also accompanies in this recital.