From BBC 3’s Unclassified Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall, May 19th 2023

Performers

BBC Concert Orchestra

André de Ridder conductor

Elizabeth Alker presenter

About the Piece

My wife is an extraordinary poet and one morning she woke up with this phrase in her mind-God Docks at Death Harbor. At the time I was just starting to think about this orchestra commision, but when those words entered my ears, I began to rethink everything and a different musical narrative took shape. The phrase evoked such strong imagery for me, in particular a vision of our planet years from now when the human race no longer exists. Instead of imaging a planet plunging into chaos without us, I imagined instead the quiet and peacefulness of a world restoring itself.