Will Todd brings us a new setting of Locus iste and it is a classic example of understatee craftsmanship. You may argue that the choir doesn't do much; or that the music does not take us on much of a journey. But the point of Todd's piece is that we perceive stillness as depicated by the choir through the perpetuum mobile provided by the small balletic steps of the piano accompaniment. If your choir can subdivide 7/8 into 2+2+3 and maintain genuinely soft singing for
nearly four minutes (the loudest marking is mp), this piece is for you.
British composer and pianist Will Todd has worked at the Royal Opera House, the Lincoln Center in New York, London's Barbican, and with Welsh National Opera, award-winning choirs The Sixteen, BBC Singers, and Tenebrae. He travels extensively world-wide, workshopping with choirs, and conducting performances of his works. Will's music is valued for its melodic intensity and harmonic skill, often incorporating jazz colours, and his choral music is much in demand from
amateur as well as professional performers. He is best-known for his choral works, and his jazz-inspired Mass in Blue has been performed hundreds of times since its premiere in 2003. This has been followed by his critically acclaimed Passion Music. His anthem, The Call of Wisdom, was commissioned for
HRH The Queen's Diamond Jubilee service at Westminster Abbey.