Work

Programme Note

Much of my work is a marriage (or balancing act) between the Western art music tradition and my own position in time and place. Along with many forms, I have had a love for sacred choral music from Mediaeval times through to the present, but in not being a Christian, I have felt a reluctance to set text in which I don’t fully believe.

In reading the work of spiritual author, Eckhart Tolle, I have discovered a new connection with biblical texts. Tolle quotes the line “Be still, and know that I am God” in his book A New Earth, as an example of a universal truth that is at the heart of all religions and belief systems. In this text “God” may be seen as the Christian God, an omnipresent spiritual dimension or the universe personified. This line, and the rest of the text, is from Psalm 46. In setting this text I have found an opening into the world of sacred choral music that aligns with my own beliefs.

Anthony Young

Text Note:

Text is from Psalm 46 from the King James Bible

Commissioned:

Composed for The Committee's 2009 Clock Tower concert, 1 March 2009

Difficulty:

Advanced

Difficulty Note:

intermediate to advanced

Influences:

• Bible

Dedication:

Dedicated to Eckhart Tolle (E.T.)

Performance History

	01 Mar 2009	Performed by The Souls, conducted by Rachel Bates at the Auckland University Clocktower in Auckland
	17 Dec 2009	Performed by Coro “Voci del mondo” (of the Università per stranieri di Perugia) at Perugia, Italy