In November 2008 I stumbled across the poetry and letters of Gertrud Kolmar and was immediately struck by work that, to me, vividly expressed an experience of life suffused with vivid colour, vibrancy – and deep suffering. Deeply moved by what I read, I soon chose the poem Aus dem Dunkel (Out Of The Darkness) from her Welten cycle to set as a cantata for chamber choir, mezzo soprano soloist and two cellos.

To begin with, I imagined that I’d settle on a musical language that might somehow meet the darkness in the poem. But as I began to compose, quite different stylistic voices seemed to suggest themselves. Influences of Tango and Bossa Nova, as well as more abstract ideas, all seemed ironically appropriate. The result is a cantata of a little under 40 minutes.

Form

Out of the Darkness is divided into seven sections – including an off-stage Prologue. The sixth song, The River, features the line, ‘Far off, the river speaks with its banks’, but this song is also the only section of the piece that uses text other than from Kolmar’s poem. The text used here is taken from two Sephardic ballads – La Serena and A La Nana. I have allowed myself this poetic licence as River allows a brief time for reflection away from the journey of the main text. And why Spanish? Well, Kolmar was a linguist, the Jewish culture is multinational, and the words are not only incredibly beautiful, but also, in the case of A La Nana, painfully ironic:

A La Nana

Lullaby, baby,
The child sleeps.
May great God guard them,
Keep the children from evil.

If the sea were milk,
the boats of cinnamon,
 I would quite dip in
 To save my banner.

A la nana, a la buba,
Se durma la criatura, 
El Dio grande que los guarde
A los niños de los males.            

La Serena

Si la mar era de leche 
Los barquitos de canela
Yo me mancharia entera
Por salvar la mi bandiera.                                 

Out of the Darkness was premiered in Winchester Cathedral in November 2009, and was followed by seven more performances in the UK and Germany over the next several months.

First performances, and subsequent recording, conducted by Howard Moody and featured Melanie Pappenhem (mezzo soprano), Sophie Harris (cello), Lucy Railton (cello) and the Schoolhouse 6 Ensemble. The CD is available on the MMC label (MMC101) and on Spotify. Out of the Darkness is published by Novello and Co.

Out of the Darkness is dedicated to my wife, Arabella. I am truly lost for words when it comes to expressing my gratitude for her ceaseless support during the writing of this piece.