1987/88 HALLELUJAH II for large ensemble (26 players)

HALLELUJAH II (1987/88), for an ensemble of 26, was a commission from the ASKO Ensemble, for which I was forced to temporarily set aside my work on Hallelujah I. The ten-minute work was, however, executed in the same spirit as its namesake but with complete freedom in my choice of form and content. ‘Self-indulgence within a well-delineated freedom’, would perhaps be an appropriate phrase. Both Hallelujahs are strenuous exercises in optimism, or, as the foreword to Hallelujah II says, ‘desperate attempts to sing hallelujah! whilst trying to swim up against Niagara Falls’: the sort of heroism that seems to sum up my career as a composer rather well. A beautiful recording is available on Music + Practice, Composer’s Voice CV 57.