An Evening Prayer

AN EVENING PRAYER was composed in 2000, commissioned by the Young Philharmonic Orchestra for the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras' project “Composing Europe”. The work consists of seven contrasting sections. A dark sound mass develops from the depths, followed by an ethereal episode. After a chorale melody, this fragment introduces the actual evening prayer, played by an English horn and tubular bells. This is followed by a passage in which melancholy takes centre stage. All this leads to a Lamentoso. As a contrast, a Furioso in which visions of fear are expressed in sound. After a short, plaintive transition, an epilogue follows that seeks to convey the idea of endlessness.