Echo

SATB divisi a cappella, Octavo 'Echo' is the third movement of 'Seascapes', which was commissioned by the BBC Singers, as companion music to the 'Four Sea Interludes' by Benjamin Britten, arranged for the organ by Anna Lapwood. It was premiered at Temple Church by the BBC Singers, conducted by Ben Palmer, on 7 October. The four movements of 'Seascapes' take the four Britten movements as inspiration, seen through the prism of Arakelyan's musical language. Ranging from the painful lyricism of the third movement, Echo, to the wild energy of the final movement, Storm Wind, the musical syntax, including the melodies, structure and tonal centres are presented as a homage. The poems by Christina Rossetti were chosen to reflect the narrative themes of Britten's opera 'Peter Grimes', from which the 'Four Sea Interludes' are taken. The compositions can be paired with the Four Sea Interludes or performed as standalone pieces.