Words and Music by Ian Sutherland

Commissioned by Rory Wilson for the Calton Consort, Edinburgh.

I was invited to write a new choral work for the Calton Consort under the programmatic title of ‘Choral Pride’. This developed into a deeply personal piece, which is my response to the poem Orpheus by W.H. Auden. As David Charles wrote, reviewing the work for the Edinburgh Guide:

“Exploring the natural dusk spectacle, as starlings return to their roosts, we were confronted with the conundrum about nature’s wonder and simplicity, and how that then interfaces with our own longing for recognition, meaning and identity. The piece spoke of our interwovenness with everyone – and everything – around us.”

I have included a perusal copy of the score below, which includes my full compositional notes. For a full version of the score, please email: ian@isutherland.co.uk