Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade (b. 1989)
Composer; Cellist
Works published by MoV
Car aupres de toi (SSSSAA)
Car aupres de toi (SSSSAA)
Car auprès de toi was commissioned in 2019 by the professional women’s voices choir, Aurora Nova, and its director Patrick Craig. The text celebrates the spiritual light that radiates from God. The work oscillates between two states: some passages drift freely while others come into focus at points of cadence. The technical treatment of the voices is inspired by the artistic technique of pointillism, in which tiny bursts of pure colour are blended to form a luminous, brilliant whole. The composition explores subtle fluctuations in modal harmony and savours the sounds of the French words. Tenuto markings are used to coordinate subtle variations of sound, and in the context of this work they represent a soft yet positive attack on a given note. An important device used across the piece is that of stretto, whereby vocal entries occur in quick succession: here it is used with a view to creating a dappled, radiant sound-world. Markings and dynamic instructions are very particular to each individual voice: unless otherwise indicated, notes are to be sustained and evenly held throughout. (Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade)
Translation: For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light.
(King James Version)
Car aupres de toi (SSSSAA)
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)
Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade (b. 1989)
Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade is a composer and cellist currently based in Edinburgh. Growing up in a family of puppeteers, she has always been fascinated by intersections between music, language, movement, and the visual arts. Over the last five years she has collaborated with a range of artists on the East Coast of the US while pursuing doctoral studies at Princeton University. Composing for old, new, and damaged musical instruments, her past projects have included works for flower pots, electric guitar, viols and theorbo, the Trinidadian steel pan, string and percussion quartets, a homemade glass harmonica, and a fire-damaged piano. She is currently writing music for a youth opera production at Glyndebourne, where she is a Composer in Residence; Ninfea is also a recipient of the Psappha Ensemble’s Peter Maxwell Davies Commission, through which she is writing a work for chamber ensemble and sitar. (Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade)