The score for Jonathan Harvey's Lauds
Commissioned in 1987 by the Southern Cathedrals’ Festival, Lauds for choir and solo cello is the first in a cycle of eight anthems inspired by early monastic traditions by Jonathan Harvey. Bishop John Taylor’s text describes new beginnings: the first holy office before daybreak, as well as birth and childhood; he previously collaborated with Harvey on his church opera Passion and Resurrection. Close harmonies and canonic variation in the choral writing produces a host of textures, while the solo cello offers commentary. As the 13-minute piece unfolds its mood darkens as childhood innocence gives way.
“At times a halo of voices, at others an edgy, bracing timbre”
The Artsdesk (Bernard Hughes) 18 December 2017