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Programme Note

Dorchester Canticles was commissioned by the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir, with funds from Arts Council England and received its première in St Mary’s Church, Dorchester in a performance on 22nd May, 2004 conducted by David Gostick.

Although the two movements share some musical material, each is conceived as an independent entity. Thus, this work can either be performed as single stand-alone movements, or as one continuous composition. The optional harp and percussion are written with concert performances in mind (primarily for partnering the orchestration of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms). For liturgical occasions, the Cantate Domino and Deus misereatur (otherwise known as the ‘alternative canticles’) may legitimately replace the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in evensong.

Tarik O’Regan