Description
The Black Lake was initially envisioned as a narrative cantata featuring a large choir, soprano solo, two narrators and orchestra. This version was commissioned by the Three Choirs Festival and premiered at Hereford Cathedral in 2025. The 'Festival' version was recorded live and is available for listening on Spotify, Apple and Amazon. Later, I restructured the piece by removing the narration to align it with my other major choral works, including Mirror of Perfection, Voices of Exile, Not in Our Time, and Pieta. In this revised edition, I removed twenty minutes of material and incorporated new choral elements into the original composition. I take great pride in both versions and feel that both are true to Caradog Prichard's novel One Moonlit Night, which tells the poignant story of a young boy growing up in Bethesda, North Wales during the final years of World War I.