The piece explores the use of sleep as metaphor by dint of excerpts from poems written in the 17th to 20th centuries. Death, love, fear, ecstasy, isolation, dreaming and rest are all textual ‘variations’ on the ‘theme’ of sleep and can be found in the chosen texts. The work’s title is taken from a poem by Samuel Daniel (1562-1619) and speaks to the composition's focus on sleep as a parallel, possibly dystopian, existence to the one experienced in our waking hours. Tarik O'ReganO’Regan’s piece has been jointly commissioned by JAM and the American choir VocalEssence which will give the US premiere under director Philip Brunelle during the 2010/11 season. Since its foundation in 2000, the John Armitage Memorial has been responsible for developing the repertoire of works for choir and brass through commissioning many of the UK’s leading composers and providing performance opportunities for emerging talents. “JAM is a vital organisation that fosters a furthering of the canon of existing chamber works by the commissioning of new compositions,” comments O’Regan. “I'm very excited to be working with JAM as I believe it is precisely this kind of rare patronage which is capable of maintaining the relevancy of contemporary music to audiences, performers and composers today.”
Tarik O’Regan: The Night’s Untruth
17th February 2010
