Heavens' Keeper

A 20-minute piece of music for full string orchestra, in four movements. 'Heaven's Keeper' has its origins in 'Winfrith', a music drama to celebrate the Millennium at Brixworth Church in Northamptonshire. In the wake of the first production in November 2000, 'Winfrith' was reshaped into a full-scale opera. Arranging four of the numbers for strings was a way of exploring new ways of developing the score. The result is a free-standing piece that is also a window into an opera, a little like the Sea Interludes from 'Peter Grimes' that Benjamin Britten arranged for concert performance. The piece is for medium to large string orchestra, divided into first and second violins, first and second violas, cellos and double basses.