Song of Creation

Alec Rowley (13 March 1892 – 11 January 1958) was an English composer and writer on music.

He studied at London's Royal Academy of Music with Frederick Corder, and later taught at Trinity College in the same city. He frequently performed and broadcast piano duets with Edgar Moy, and was widely known for his compositions for amateur forces.

His seven choral songs, A Sailors Garland, are full of good music, challenging enough to make rehearsals interesting. In addition, he wrote many pieces for solo piano and solo organ.

He was for many years the organist of St Alban's Church, Teddington and was a contributor to 'The Rotunda', the house magazine of Henry Willis & Sons Ltd.

About the piece:

Rowley put a few lines of C. Rossetti in the publication which read:

“I All Creation sing my song of praise
To God who made me and vouchsaves my days.

I could not find any recording of this strange work on the internet.
Not on Spotify, not on Youtube and even not on ContreBombarde.

So I guess this is a kind of first performance.

I tried to follow Rowley's indications as much as possible, but to speak of true understanding, no.

The endless chord sequences, pedal figures and trumpet blasts make me think of the path of evolution of life and the highlights and pitfalls therein. A kind of erie march, ending as it begins, biting its own tail.

Maybe.