Matthew Whittall has two big orchestral commissions in the pipeline. One of them, from the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), is Joy – Symphony for Orchestra and Organ to be premiered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Helsinki Music Centre on 22 May 2024. The soloist in this concert conducted by Nicholas Collon will…
Northlands (album for horn and string orchestra) is a concertante work for horn and strings. Whittall tells that it was influenced by his brief experience with Iceland, its epic landscapes and otherworldly light, which had had an immediate and powerful impact both on the composer and the concept for the piece. Duration 23 minutes. Solo…
Matthew Whittall’s (b. 1975) Love is Little (2009) is a modern motet which uses a Shaker hymn as cantus firmus. The original melody is gradually slowed down, looped and fragmented, forming a quiet, ambient soundscape in which each singer performs their own part freely. The piece is suitable for larger choirs but also works with…
The second string quartet by Matthew Whittall saw daylight only some 20 years after his first one. Bright Ferment was commissioned for the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. Duration 9 min. Score & parts 55011-510-1, € 39,90
The long-lasting admiration for the poetry of Octavio Paz inspired Matthew Whittall to compose this captivating choir piece. A constant ostinato motif is carried throughout the piece depicting the white noise of the rain. 55011-506-4, € 8,90
This charming work to a poem by Niilo Rauhala describes the holy place of peace, meditation and closeness, best experienced in the cathedral of nature on a summer evening.55011-530-9, € 3,90
for mixed choirText: Christina RossettiThis cycle of carols traces the long nights of watchfulness before Christmas, with the great event constantly deferred, only glimpsed periodically in different visions before the music turns inward again to contemplation. 55011-455-5, € 13,60
album for horn and stringsNorthlands is a concertante work for horn and strings, written for Tommi Hyytiäinen. The composer writes that Northlands was influenced by his brief experience with Iceland, its epic landscapes and otherworldly light, which had had an immediate and powerful impact both on the composer and the concept for the piece. Study…
Sonata for alto saxophone and pianoEvent Horizons is an intensely emotional piece, stemming from reflections on the immensity of the universe and one’s own place in it. Whittall was greatly affected by the spaciousness and subtle intricacies of Eastern music – the gamelan music of Bali in particularly. 55011-432-6, € 32,90
