The Celestial Stranger Premiere with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales 16th May.
A New work for Solo Tenor and Orchestra
The Celestial Stranger was inspired by the rediscovery in 1997 in the library of Lambeth Palace in London of texts by the Seventeenth Century cleric and mystic, Thomas Traherne. In these Traherneimagins a person from another world discovering earth and being enchanted by its beauty: “this little star, so wide and so full of mysteries." In this cycle of songs our Stranger goes on to marvel at natural wonders and recounts how his (or her) brother imagines that in jumping over a stream in the moonlight he falls into a reverse world and ‘leaps over the moon’. Drawing on other poets like Walt Whitman and Dylan Thomas, the cycle describes a broad narrative arc. In 'As Time Draws Nigh'', the realities of the earth wake the Stranger up to the warlike industrialisation of society, and the prophetic fear of a totalitarian regime are expressed in 'The Hand that Signed the Paper’. Understanding the imperfections of the word, our traveller takes their regretful leave – perhaps one day to return.
The texts of the songs can be found here:
About the concert (from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales website):
“Celestial, sparking lights glitter in this evening of ground-breaking music. Fauré’s suite from Pelléas et Mélisande opens in resplendent yet tumultuous style - The first musical setting of Maurice Maeterlinck’s play of the same name, which would inspire other composing greats, including Debussy, Sibelius and Schoenberg.
We move to more ethereal heights with the world premiere of Stephen McNeff’s The Celestial Stranger. This new work, inspired by recently rediscovered verses by the seventeenth century mystic Thomas Traherne, explores the journey of a stranger encountering earth for the first tine from afar, being entranced by its beauty and wonder, but ultimately reluctantly having to say goodbye because of war and strife. The new work features Irish tenor Gavan Ring as soloist, a singer with which the composer has a special relationship having already written a major song cycle Ballads of a Bogman premiered in California in 2022.
The concert finishes with a commemoration of 150 years since the birth of Arnold Schoenberg and we celebrate this radical composer with a performance of a work that changed the course of musical history as we know it. With a revolutionary shift in tonality and the breakdown of the traditional tonal system, Verklärte Nacht threw his name out into the world and forged his way as the creator of dodecaphonic music, more commonly known as serialism.
To conduct BBC NOW for the first time we welcome the wonderful Portugeuse conductor, Joana Carniero.
For more detials of venue and times click here
Gavan Ring (image Credit Frances Marshall)
Joana Carneiro (Image: Vasco Vilhena/IMG Website)
Stephen McNeff
The Celestial Stranger
For Tenor & Orchestra
Texts from
Thomas Traherne, Walt Whitman, Dylan Thomas, Lili’uokalani
Co-Commissioned by Radio 3 for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and RTÉ for the National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin
First performance on 16th May 2024 at Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Joana Carneiro with Gavan Ring, tenor. The Irish premiere was on 31st January 2025 at the National Concert Hall, Dublin by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lina Gonzales- Granados with Gavan Ring as soloist.
Orchestra Flutes 1& 2 Piccolo
Oboes 1&2
Cor anglais Clarinets 1&2 Bass Clarinet Bassoons 1&2 Contra Bassoon 4 Horns
3 Trumpets
2 Trombones Bass Trombone Timpani Percussion* Harp
Strings
*Vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, crotales, mark tree, wind chimes (bamboo), tam tam, ‘Chinese’ cymbal (gong), suspended cymbal, temple blocks, 2 tom toms, snare drum, pedal bass drum, orchestral bass drum
Contents
The Celestial Stranger
On Leaping Over the Moon
As Time Draws Nigh
The Hand that Signed the Paper
Farewell to Thee
Duration c.20 minutes
Published by Edition Peters/Wise Music
