Tristan & Iseult - a song cycle for chamber choir and piano

The storyline of this work is influenced by several chapters of Sir Thomas Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”, as well as separate and different versions of the Tristan & Iseult legend by Joseph Bédier (translated by Hilaire Belloc), Rosemary Sutcliffe, Joy Wilson and Bernard Cornwell. The libretto is original. The song cycle is arranged for 5 soloists (Tristan, Iseult, King Mark, Rohalt and Branguine) as well a spoken Narrator, Gorvenal.

The 8-part chorus fulfils a range of purposes – sometimes they pass comment on the action, sometimes they are the (unruly) courtiers at King Mark’s Tintagel Castle, sometimes they are used to accompany the words of the Narrator. The last section of the work, “When the white flame in us is gone”, page 143ff, sets the poem, “Dust” (by Rupert Brooke), as the concluding part of the story. “Dust” is also available on this website as a separate work and the virtual performance of the song, by the Sibelius software, is available there as well.

It is the intention of the composer to find a choir which will give the première performance of this song cycle. If you are interested, please get in touch with the composer by emailing from this Score Exchange website. In that email, you can also request a pdf copy of the libretto (8 pages) and the front cover so that you can make up a complete copy of the score when you have downloaded it from Score Exchange. If you would like to explore the possibility of having the composer attend a rehearsal or some other meeting, in order to explain the work in greater detail, please include that in your email as well.

The audio track is a virtual performance by the Sibelius software of the last two sections of the work.