John McCabe: Songs Of The Garden

Written for SATB soloists, with SATB chorus, Brass Quintet and Organ, this setting was inspired by the illustrations of 18th Century Japanese artist Utamaro. McCabe has selected a group of texts that are chosen to express the period of spring to autumn from the view of the Garden and it's inhabitants, including the birds, insects, plants and animals. The texts are taken from sources as diverse as John Clare, William Blake and Walt Whitman. The set was written in 2003/04 and commissioned by The John Armitage Memorial Trust.