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Programme Note

Bring rest, sweet dreaming child takes its title from the first stanza of a poem by the Anglican priest-poet, Mark Pryce; in his own words, the text ‘reflects on the birth of the Christ-child who comes into the anxiety, noise and loneliness of the contemporary city, with its threats of terrorism and fear of neighbour.’ Originally written in 2003 for Midnight Mass in the heart of the city, there is a wonderfully ecumenical sentiment of stillness that pervades the poem; something which I have tried to bring out in my musical setting. Scored for a standard four-part choir, the words are sparsely accompanied by a solo harp; I have deliberately avoided the more conventional use of the instrument, thus there are no glissandi and it does not double the vocal line. Each verse, based on the opening monody, is altered and extended very slightly until we see a window upon the inherent radiance of the words.

Tarik O’Regan
New York, November 2004