Written for the choir of Westminster Abbey, Harvey's Missa Brevis is an inspiring piece for any cathedral choir or ambitious mixed-voice ensemble.
The ensuing web of melody at first intertwined with the trumpet in close canon, and then - by the device of running some of the tape tracks at half-speed - plunged far below the trumpet's plangent inc...
. . . luminously scored and graced by a good deal of glorious vocal writing... Paul Griffiths, The Musical Times, January 1981, Instrumentation: 0000 - 1110 - perc(1): claves/2 susp.cym/vib/2 wdbl/2 s...
This work is for piano and CD. The tape part retunes the piano, so that there are microtonal tensions between the live piano and the tape and a close contrapuntal relationship between the two.
Wagner Dream by Jonathan Harvey is an opera in nine scenes for soloists, actors, chorus, large ensemble and electronics. Instrumentation: Vairochana (B)/Ananda (T)/Prakriti (S)/Mother of Prakriti(M)/B...
In these canticles written for the 1978 Southern Cathedrals Festival, Harvey follows in the tradition of Britten and Tippett in fusing ancient ritual with thoroughly modern means of expression. Choral...
Resurrection is based on simple vocal triads that perfectly suit a resonant building. It is ceremonial and repetitive in character, in short, sacred music rather than secular.
The text of this work is by Bishop J Cosin, based on Veni Creator Spiritus. The music is based on a pentatonic chord throughout, and reflects the floating rhythms of plainchant.