Searching for Richard Nye - 4 results.
Annunciation for two voices, optional flute, oboe or clarinet and piano based on a painting by American artist, John Collier (www.Hillstream.com). Written for a school's Nine Lessons and Carols service, Annunciation was first performed in 2009 when it was heard by over a thousand people at two events in 24 hours. The piece has been regularly performed since by both adults and children and was also used for a choral workshop at Stowe School. As well as being used in carol services, Annunciation has been performed as part of a concert programme and used as piece of 'music drama'. One of the most memorable performances took place in 2010 when it was sung in the United States next to John's painting at St Gabriel's, McKinney, Texas.
Annunciation is dedicated to the memory of my mother-in-law, Valerie Bullows for whom Christmas was always a special time.
Richard's setting of this, one of the earliest English prayers from the Sarum Primer of 1514, was written specifically for the 2022 London Festival of Contemporary Church Music.
It was first performed by the Choral Scholars of St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater, with Alastair Carey accompanying on the organ. A recording of the piece was part of the first LFCCM@Home Choral Evensong online broadcast in 2023, and can be heard here. It may be performed with or without organ accompaniment.
Written in 1988 for Richard's college choir, I saw a new heaven was first performed at a service held at Brighton Dome later that year.
Designed as a short anthem that could be learned quite quickly, the piece enjoyed a small number of performances in the years that followed. In 2018 it was included as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music and performed twice during festival week. Following the festival the London-based Seraphim Consort added the anthem to their repertoire, recording the work and performing it countless times. In December 2021 Seraphim's recording was broadcast on Ukrainian radio. During the global pandemic the piece was included by a church choir as part of their virtual singing repertoire.
I lift mine eyes was written for the 2024 London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, and was first performed by a small number of voices positioned high above the congregation at St Magnus the Martyr, close to London Bridge, on 12th May 2024. As the choir sang, the music carried right through the church as communion began.
My intention from the outset was to write an accessible setting, for a four-part choir of any size, to be incorporated into a variety of church services and acts of worship. Psalm 121 has long been a favourite of mine and the LFCCM call for scores gave me the opportunity to finally write my own unaccompanied setting.