Paul Carr – Awakening (The Cycle of Hope)
Scored for tenor, mixed choir, youth choir and orchestra, with text by Stephen Feltham
Awakening is a spiritual choral work, whose setting is based at Stonehenge near Salisbury. Based on a set of 16 spiritual poems by Stephen Feltham, Awakening portrays the cycle of hope experienced by humanity as it progresses through the celestial cycle exhibited by the equinoxes and solstices.
The work is in four main sections: Spring Equinox; Summer Solstice; Autumn Equinox; Winter Solstice.
Paul Carr writes:
I have always been drawn to the four seasons and was delighted to see that in writing his celestial cycle, Awakening, the seasons are ever-present as a kind of spiritual guide for humankind in Stephen’s powerful setting. I felt very drawn to this spiritual journey; a journey that is true to all of us as human beings on this earth – a necessity to be in touch with our world, with nature and above all with humanity; a journey of acceptance, love, and a common embracement with is as necessary now as it has always been, perhaps evening more so in these disturbingly dark times we presently inhabit. This is a Cycle of Hope.
The first performances are scheduled for June 2024 to be given in Poole on 9th June and in Salisbury Cathedral on 22nd June with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Salisbury Musical Society accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.