TARIK O'REGAN (b.1978): Had I Not Seen the Sun, The Ecstasies Above, Threshold of Night, Tal vez tenemos tiempo, Care Charminge Sleepe, Triptych, I Had No Time to Hate.

Description: Recent works for voices and strings by a young British composer whose music will very likely appeal to admirers of Vasks and Pärt. Building predominantly consonant, rich choral textures, O'Regan sets texts by Poe, Dickinson and others, all with a searching, reflective message, seeking 'the ecstasies above' in the uneasy context of modern living. The ingenious counterpoint between agitated scurrying instrumental accompaniment, with a quasi-minimalist element, and glowing, otherworldly choral textures points up this contrast. Elsewhere, the composer concentrates on the meditative aspects of the texts in choral textures of some complexity, subtle dissonant suspensions lending a somber, mystical air to the proceedings, an atmosphere of antiquity and mystery. Texts and translations included. Conspirare, Company of Voices; Craig Gella Johnson. SACD hybrid.