Joshua Brown

Composer

On the Stork Tower

On the Stork Tower was composed 2016 for Ad Solem, conducted by Rory Johnston.

Commissioned by the Confucius Institute of Manchester for their 10th anniversary celebration, On the Stork Tower is a poem from the Tang dynasty. It was written by Wang Zhihuan about Guanque tower on the Yellow River, and the translation is by Xu Yuanchong.

This setting explores the potential for combining two contrasting Confucian musical types, Su Yueh and Ya Yueh to create a meditative textural stasis in which each can complement the other.

Premiere - Whitworth Hall, Manchester, November 2016

Further performances:

Ad Solem conducted by Robert Guy, Hong Kong, January 2024

Duration: 4 minutes

SATB Choir