Martin Stacey
read his biography

‘The Hymn of the Pearl’ - symphony for organ (2005)

‘The Hymn of the Pearl’ is a five-movement symphony based on a Gnostic text of the same name found in the Acts of Thomas. It tells of a soul’s journey, sent by its parents to retrieve a pearl from a great sea-monster. Along the way it encounters many obstacles but finally succeeds, and on returning safely home is handsomely rewarded. The ‘pearl-theme’ is present in various forms throughout the symphony; most clearly in the final soft bars of the final Passacaglia, which echo the start of the first movement as the whole work comes back to its beginning.

The last two movements received their first performance at Westminster Abbey in 2005 but the first complete performance was given at St Dominic’s Priory in December 2006. Further complete performances will take place in Helsinki in November 2007, played by the composer as part of AFNOM (Organo Novo), and in Glasgow in April 2008, played by Kevin Bowyer.

For details visit www.martinstacey.com

Duration: 55mins
Available from: the composer
Price: £15