Work of the Week - Gavin Bryars: The War in Heaven

18 years after its first performance, Gavin Bryars' epic work for solo soprano and male alto, chorus, semi chorus and orchestra, The War in Heaven, will receive its Dutch premiere at Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw on 23rd September. Conductor Brad Lubman, the Radio Kamer Filharmonie and the Groot Omroepkoor with Anja-Nina Bahrmann (soprano) and Maarten Engeltjes (alto) take on the 45 minute cantata which sets texts from the Bible and by American writer Sam Shepard.

Bryars, who in recent years has written more and more vocal works (including a collection of 40 (and growing) vocal laude) has used both ancient and contemporary texts for his works but in The War in Heaven he employes both within the same work. The chorus’ text, in 7th century Old English, is taken from the opening of the first books of the Bible usually called Genesis A which Bryars came across this whilst writing his 1989 classic Cadman Requiem. In contrast the soloists sing, in 20th century English, a setting of a monologue that the American writer wrote for Joseph Chaikin. Connecting the texts is the theme of fallen angels, though in very different ways.

• Gavin Bryars - Profile
• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ