Two narrators, four harps, choir and organ (2019 rev.2022)
Set in ancient Alexandria this dramatic cantata juxtaposes the lives of two martyrs of antiquity – the pioneering mathematician and philosopher Hypatia (c.355-415AD) who was brutally murdered by an extremist Christian mob, and the legend of St Katherine of Alexandria (of Katherine-wheel fame), who was tortured and executed by a pagan emperor, and whose legend is almost certainly a Christian appropriation of Hypatia’s life.
The two heroines are placed side by side and viewed through Pagan, Christian, and philosophical perspectives, as well as in the context of ancient Alexandria – the Megalopolis which Alexander the Great envisaged as an intellectual centre for all knowledge, and as a cultural and religious melting pot.
These two threads gradually begin to touch and blur throughout the work, eventually uniting to highlight contemporary themes of feminism, religious fundamentalism, and globalisation. Cosmopolitan Alexandria becomes a symbol for our modern world, and a message of ‘contemplation, understanding and respect’ rather than ‘fundamentalism and mob-rule’ is left for the listener to reflect upon.
Two Souls was commissioned by Hereford Chamber Choir with funds provided by the RVW Trust. The revised version was premiered at the 2022 Three Choirs Festival in Belmont Abbey, Hereford on 26th July, 2022, by Hereford Chamber Choir, narrators Tim Bannerman and Hilary Markland, harpists Anne Denholm, Anwen Mai Thomas, Esther Beyer and Gabriella Jones, and organist Sam Bayliss, conducted by Simon Harper.
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