Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp

Celtic Voices, op. 36/1, for string orchestra, a piece in one movement of about 5 minutes, was written in 1995. The composer comments: "While Celtic art refers to a definite style of decoration, the sources of Celtic music, being less clear, incorporate folk traditions from the Western fringes of the British Isles. This piece explores a predominantly lyrical vein."[1] Ivan March wrote in his review for Gramophone magazine: "Celtic Voices similarly balances virtuosity with lyricism and dips into the Phrygian mode to establish its underlying harmonic flavour."[2]

Hale Bopp, op. 36/2, for string orchestra with an obbligato treble voice (or horn) was composed in 1997, inspired by the Comet Hale–Bopp,[3] which was discovered on 23 July 1995 and dubbed the Great Comet of 1997.

The piece in one movement of about 7 minutes begins with tremolandi, glissandi and wide spaced scoring and ends with a quote of the chorale "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star", sung by a boy soprano accompanied by a string quartet. The original German hymn by Philipp Nicolai begins: "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" and was published in 1599. The composer comments: "Although strictly speaking the comet is not a star, each has its own place in the celestial firmament and has exercised a like fascination on man over the ages." The piece was premiered in 1997 with the Swiss Orchestre d'Yverdon, conducted by the composer.[4] In Advent 2011, Hale Bopp was performed in Schloss Borbeck in a concert with Bach's cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, and the composer's Christmas cantata Der Anfang einer neuen Zeit (The Beginning of a New Time) on a text by the poet Hans Krieger.[5]

The two pieces for a similar instrumentation were published together by Hofmeister, Leipzig, in 1998.[6] They both were recorded in 2002 by the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Yaron Traub, as part of the CD Graham Waterhouse Portrait 2 for Meridian Records with music for string orchestra and wind ensemble. Between them appears Hymnus for winds, which also quotes a hymn tune, but only one line instrumentally like a refrain.

Hubert Culot commented, "Hale Bopp Op.36/2 ... opens with wide-spaced chords suggesting some other-worldly atmosphere and ends with a treble voice singing How brightly shines the Morning Star, accompanied by a string quartet. Though shorter and, on the whole, less astringent, this lovely piece may compared to Georges Lentz’s Caeli enarrant... III."[7]

• Graham Waterhouse website