Nigel Morgan :: New Music for High Voice

Vocal music in the soprano and mezzo-soprano range forms a significant part of Nigel Morgan's portfolio of compositions. The last ten years have seen a series of vocal compositions beginning with his ambitious setting of Kathleen Raine's poems from Stone and Flower (2002) to the most recent Pleasing Myself (2009), a song cycle based on the textile images of Janet Bolton. A version for soprano of his collection of twelve songs The Man with the Golden Key from the Schumann-inspired collection Childhood and Memory is now available. In the Heart of the Rock (2005), a song sequence for mezzo-soprano, flute and piano, there is a unique opportunity for a variety of different presentations and instrumentations. Setting words by the Welsh artist and poet Ray Howard-Jones this describes the artist's life on the island of Skomer.

In 2008 the composer began exploring the Quaker tradition through regular visits to the historic Brigflatts meeting house in Cumbria. Improving Silence for soprano and guitar celebrates this location in three settings of Quaker texts in poetic paraphrase. Occasional songs commissioned mainly for special events make up a body of related work. These include poems by Simon Armitage and a unique setting of a text by Dame Barbara Hepworth commissioned by The Worshipful Company of Musicians for the sculptor's centenary in 2003.