A WALK IN THE DEEP
1999

Inspired by Sylvia A. Earle’s 1980 National Geographic article of the same name, this work draws upon her poetic and vivid account of descending to the ocean floor in her ‘inner space suit.’ Her lyrical descriptions of marine life and the surrounding abyss inform the structure of this semi-programmatic piece, where delicate musical details emerge and evolve, evoking the slow, submerged quality of the experience. The choir functions as a vast textural instrument, slowly articulating the syllables of Latin names for deep-sea creatures. Around this choral foundation, the orchestra ebbs and flows—passing through in waves, much like the creatures that drifted past Dr. Earle as she walked the ocean floor. From this interplay, a rich and slow-moving soundscape unfolds, attempting to capture the darkness and mystery of this submerged world. As the final work composed for the DMU forces, this orchestral and choral piece received its premiere in May 1999 at the Church of St Mary de Castro, Leicester, under the direction of David Lawrence. Isospondyli – Periphylla hyacinthine – Cyema – Tevnia jerichona – Astronesthes – Lestidium – Salpa cylindrica – Acropora – Cydothones – Alepocephalus – Pelagia noctiluca – Tomopteris Iniomi – Riftia pachyptila – Millepora – Taenianotus triacanthus – Stomias – Bathytroctes Leptocephalus – Aristostomias – Stylophthalmus – Linophtyne arborifera – Pediculati – Corallium rubrum – Lamprotoxus – Myctophids – Alectis ciliaris – Bathysaurus – Onuxodon margaritiferae – Gastrostomus – Tubebora – Phronima Sedentaria – Xenodermichthys mola