A Ribbon Through the Blue (2027)
for organ
Duration: 12 minutes
Commissioned by The Chapter of York.
First performed on the Grand Organ, York Minster, on the 4th February 2027
A Ribbon Through the Blue (2027) for solo organ was commissioned by the Chapter of York to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of the first Minster in York and the baptism of King Edwin. To mark the occasion, the work was written as part of a multi-sensory installation; the music was performed cyclically on the Grand Organ, with no discernible beginning or end, alongside a lightshow as audiences move freely through the cathedral towards a sculpture in the nave. The sculpture, ‘INSERT TITLE’ (2027) by Torus Torus, fills the space with winding and twisting blue ribbons, ‘suggesting a congregation in aligned consciousness, meditation or prayer,’ and inspired the musical motifs in the piece.
The music opens with repeated, sustained notes creating a calm and meditative space. Ethereal, descending figures are introduced as twisting ribbons of sound to mirror the visual flow of winding, spiralling forms in Torus Torus’ sculpture. The motifs act as central threads, or ribbons, weaving through the piece, as the music opens out into an uplifting, atmospheric, and expansive sound-world. The winding and repeating melodic figures also reflect the movement of water in baptism. Returning to the sustained and spatial sound-world from the work’s outset, the music is cyclical and ends as it begins.