A new work by Garrett Sholdice will be premiered by UK vocal ensemble, EXAUDI on 18 October
The work, Col Tuo Lume, by Berlin-based Irish composer Garrett Sholdice will be premiered as part of the group’s Exposure 2014 concert at the Bishopsgate Institute, London on Saturday, 18 October, with performances in Wiltshire on 19 October and Durham on 29 November.
Based on text from Dante’s Paradiso, Col Tuo Lume (‘with your light’), the composer writes about the work:
‘The words describe Dante’s entrance into the first sphere of heaven and his first encounter with Beatrice, his guide. The preternatural revelations he experiences are related in ecstatic prose. My piece is also searching for a certain ecstasis, a certain revelation. Through its declamations, repetitions and elisions the music is ever-turning, ever-sifting, ever-trying to soar. The madrigals of Monteverdi and Gesualdo were ringing in my ears somewhat as I composed, particularly the suave fourth book of the former (1603) and the eccentric fifth book of the latter (1611). For me, the declamatory nature of this music often takes on a rather ritualistic atmosphere. It’s something I feel very close to.’
Further information on the event is available from www.exaudi.org.uk/whats-on/.