Gemma McGregor (b. 1965)
Composer
Works published by MoV
Love was his meaning (SSA & harp)
Love was his meaning (SSA & harp)
This is the third anthem in Multitude of Voyces’ Dame Julian of Norwich series commissioned by Dee Stewart, and composed for Godolphin Vocal Ensemble, directed by Olivia Sparkhall with Katie Salomon (harp). It was given its first performance in Salisbury on International Women’s Day, 2019.
The starting point for this piece was picturing the fourteenth century anchorite, Dame Julian, in her lonely cell in the grounds of St Julian’s Church, Norwich. I thought of her long cold nights full of doubt and prayer and how these thoughts were transformed after divine revelation. I wanted my music to portray a pensive mood at the start and to reach a sense of glorious transformation when Julian experiences God’s love. The descending harp scales and imitative voices at the start are like the chasing thoughts of a restless mind. Clarity comes when the words are sung by a lone voice. Strength comes at the end when the choir sings block chords and a major version of the descending scale figure. (Gemma McGregor)
Love was his meaning (SSA & harp)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 2 and as a licenced digital pdf
To order the sheet music click on the buttons below.
Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Gemma McGregor (b. 1965)
Gemma McGregor is a freelance composer, performer and curator based in Orkney, whose work crosses the boundaries of musical genres and is often multi-disciplinary. Gemma studied as a postgraduate student at the University of Aberdeen with the support of an Ogston Postgraduate Scholarship and was awarded a doctorate in 2017. Several of her compositions received performances during her time at university including Dove Unfurled, by the Dunedin Consort, and The Last Bright Rinsings, by the BBC Singers. Her opera, The Locked Door, was performed at Aberdeen Sound Festival in 2015 and her opera, The Story of Magnus Erlendsson, was performed at St Magnus Festival in 2017. During 2018 and 2019, Gemma’s music received performances by Strathclyde University Chamber Choir, Nordic Viola, Illuminate and the Godolphin Vocal Ensemble. Gemma was awarded a residency at the Red House, Aldeburgh, during August 2019, in order to carry out research at the Britten archive and to sketch arias for a new chamber opera. She will attend another residency there in May 2020 to complete her third opera, Confined.
(Gemma McGregor 2021)