Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

Joe Duddell’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimtis was commissioned by Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts with funding from Kevin Jones and Laura Woodside-Jones and received its first performance by the Choir of Royal Holloway conducted by Rupert Gough at the 2011 Presteigne Festival. Duddell has acknowledged in the past that whilst composing any piece of music, problems arise that require solutions and this new setting of the “Mag and Nunc” is no different. The main challenge for a composer who is openly agnostic is the historical weight behind the liturgical text but taking both musical and philosophical inspiration from composers such as Holst and Tippett, Duddell’s setting is a joyous and uplifting one. Opening with sustained harmonies saturated with open sounding 4ths and 5ths, the music soon leads to faster passages that chase one another. The organ adds syncopation to relatively straight vocal rhythms and at other time emphasises denser rhythmic textures. The work is dedicated to George Vass.