for large choir and handbells (2022)

“Distance is only a psychic and ideological construct designed to protect me from the nearness of things.” - Timothy Morton (‘Hyperobjects’)

the nearness of things was inspired by this quote from Timothy Morton, the idea that we view nature as something separate and distant from us, but in reality we’re one and the same, stuck to each other like glue. Everything has an intense ‘nearness’ to us that’s kind of beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

There are three layers of activity in the piece: a group of sopranos playing handbells and singing solfège , an alto and tenor clapping and singing in unison, and the rest of the choir reciting different dates relating to the Anthropocene (e.g. 1945, the testing of the first atomic bomb). Each group starts out as a distinct layer and gradually merges and becomes indistinguishable by the end, like a big mass of sound slowly approaching from the distance and enveloping the listener, becoming suffocating.

First performed by the National Youth Choir in September 2022, conducted by Ben Parry. Released in on NMC Recordings as part of ‘Young Composers 4’.