DESCRIPTION:
'A Slumber Did my Spirit Seal' is a poem written by William Wordsworth. Set to music by Elliot Corner, aged 18, it was performed for the first time by the New Sounds Chamber Choir (Conducted by Oscar Koronka) at All Saints Church, Hove on the 22nd February 2013.

'A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seem'd a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.

No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Roll'd round in earth's diurnal course
With rocks, and stones, and trees.'

The music is written in the style of a Four-Part Motet, deliberately with no textural variety or different rhythmic part-writing to give greater weight to the words, which I wanted to be absolutely audible. I was aiming to blend the words and music, using the shape, and the ebb and flow of Wordsworth's beautiful poem to create an indistinguishable merging of the music and literature for the listener's ear.

The late John Forster, the dedicatee of this work, was a phenomenal man. He was a conductor, pianist and violinist, and used to conduct ULSO, Bournemouth Symphony and the Royal National Ballet. He was a professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music for 33 years, and was the head of Piano at Christ's Hospital School for 9 and a half years.

John was a massive inspiration to me, and fuelled my drive to be the best I could possibly be. He introduced me to the Royal College of Music as well. I once considered giving up music when I was aged 14, but John convinced me not to. Without him, I am certain that I would not be playing today.

He died of terminal cancer 8 days before the premiere of this work, which was to be dedicated to him. He was hoping to attend. I dedicated the work to his memory instead, so that whenever I hear it, I can think of and remember the kind and wonderful man that inspired me so much.

"And as the symphony of existence comes to a close,
as the applause begins and the music fades,
this concert may be approaching its final moments,
But that little boy sitting in the front row, mouth agape, will grow up,
and the baton has already been handed over to the next generation,
and the music will never truly die."

Thank you John, I'll never forget what you did for me.