Man Is the Dream of a Shadow (from Organ Symphony No. 18) (2020)

Bernard Heyes (b. 1951) — Man Is the Dream of a Shadow (from Organ Symphony No. 18) (2020)

The composer has written: “The title of this movement comes from a quote from Pythian VIII by the Ancient Greek poet Pindar. “Creatures of a day. What is someone? What is no one? Man is the dream of a shadow.” Written around 446 BC, this is probably Pindar’s last work; he would have been an old man by now, and he sees that both successes and misfortunes are transient and ephemeral. Joy is insubstantial, the dream of a shadow. Man is the creature of a day, nothing more than a fleeting dream. To portray this concept, the movement uses reflective interrelated melodies together with their inversions which are continually subjected to a variety of harmonizations and counterpoint.”

English composer Bernard J. D. Heyes (b. 1951) was born in Kent and began his musical studies at age 21. As a composer, he has focused particularly on music for the organ, most especially his extensive cycle of 20 organ symphonies. Heyes’s musical style draws on a variety of influences and diverse sources of inspiration including the natural world (especially gardens and trees), states of transcendence, ancient Greek philosophy, world cultures and places, life, death, and subatomic physics. The result is music of large scale that connects to the organ’s traditional repertoire while also speaking with a profound and individual voice.

Published by Heyes Music (bernardheyes.org.uk)