Falling in the Fire

The piece was praised by Martin Kettle of The Guardian, who wrote, "The concerto confronts two important, linked questions with which many creative artists have wrestled: how can a composer respond to the great public issues of the day – in this case the war in Syria – and how can any such response avoid being judged on moral as much as on musical grounds? Bray's concerto sensibly embodies these questions rather than answering them."[4] Steph Power of The Independent similarly observed, "Propelled by outrage at the atrocities visited upon Syria by Isis, Bray has responded with music that is defiantly exquisite as well as stark, for example, with the high-ringing tinnitus that follows a bomb explosion. Surging with energy, her colouristic writing was acutely felt by both the orchestra and brilliant soloist Guy Johnston."[5]

Barry Millington of the London Evening Standard remarked, "Passages of repetitive jagged material, perhaps alluding to the firing of arms, alternate with poignant interludes that suggest altered states of consciousness." He nevertheless added, "The cello soloist (Guy Johnston) meditates on the situation, but is not always clearly audible. One senses that the original commission of a cello concerto proved incompatible with the conception as it took shape. The work has some original, inspired touches, but it's a brave composer that attempts a piece of such attenuated introspection in a big space like the Albert Hall."[6]