The World on Fire (2015)
A setting of a text by Jackie Stedall
SSATBB
Commissioned by the Choir of The Queen’s College, Oxford for their recording A New Heaven.
Duration:
4′
First performance:
28 November 2015
The Queen’s College Choir, Owen Rees, The Queen’s College, Oxford, UK
US premiere:
11 November 2017
Te Deum Chamber Choir, Matthew Christopher Shepherd, St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, USA
Portuguese premiere:
26 July 2019
Coro Ricercare, Pedro Teixeira, N. Sra. da Estrela Church, Marvão, Portugal
Dutch premiere:
10 October 2021
Capella Vocale, Monique Schendelaar, Lokhorstkerk, Leiden, Netherlands
Canadian premiere:
18 June 2022
Pro Coro Canada, Ryan Doyle Valdes, All Saints Anglican Cathedral, Edmonton, Canada
Swedish premiere:
20 October 2022
Svanholm Singers, Carolinae Female Choir, Sofia Soderberg, Allhelgonakyrkan, Lund, Sweden
Scottish premiere:
18 March 2023
Svanholm Singers, University of Aberdeen Chamber Choir, Sofia Soderberg, St Machar’s Cathedral, Aberdeen, UK
Score
Programme note
The World on Fire is a setting of two diary fragments from Jackie Stedall, former University Lecturer in the History of Mathematics and fellow of The Queen’s College at Oxford University. I was commissioned to set her words for the Choir of Queen’s in her memory for a forthcoming CD project. The short fragments are bucolic and pastoral and full of the wonderment and spiritual power of nature – the title of the work comes from the second diary fragment: ‘The world on fire, not the fire of destruction, but of energy, creation, love. Burning in every moment.’
My setting is very simple, entirely homophonic and aims to enhance Jackie’s thoughts at being overwhelmed by the beauty and vivacity of the natural world. The work is in two sections (corresponding to the two diary fragments): a reflective opening section in A minor in which the sopranos have the melody above a repeating choral accompaniment and a more vivid, luminous section in C# minor which tries to capture some of the inherent power of the ‘energy, creation and love’.
It was a great pleasure and honour to set these beautiful words – I was lucky enough to be a junior fellow at Queen’s at the same time as Jackie and she was always a kind and thoughtful person to me, and will no doubt be hugely missed by all her worked with her.
PAC
Recording
A recording of this work is available on Signum Records (SIGCD475) and can be bought here.
Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises The World on Fire · Phillip Cooke · Choir of The Queen's College, Oxford · Owen Rees ·
The World on Fire (2015) by Phillip Cooke, performed by Te Deum Chamber Choir at the OKC Civic Centre Music Hall, Oklahoma City.
The World On Fire by Phillip Cooke - University Singers of the University of Missouri Columbia Director: R. Paul Crabb
