Full of character and charm, this lively piece draws on folk influences to create a work that emphasises the importance of the Welsh tradition. The title indicates this also: Llanandras is the Welsh name for Presteigne, the home of the festival that commissioned this piece. Complex rhythms and dance elements are combined with lyrical passages reminiscent of the haunting melodies of the Welsh folk tradition. The use of harmonics, open strings and unison playing reiterate the techniques and unique sound world inhabited by folk music.
Commissioned for the 25th Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts with funds from the Conwinston Charitable Trust, the first performance took place on 25 August 2007 at St. Andrew's Church, Presteigne, performed by the Psophos Quartet.
One of Britain's foremost composers, after three years as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, Gabriel Jackson went on to study composition with Richard Blackford and John Lambert at the Royal College of Music. Particularly acclaimed for his choral works, his liturgical pieces are in the repertoires of most of Britain's cathedral and collegiate choirs and he is a frequent collaborator with the leading professional groups of the world. From 2010-2013 he was Associate Composer to the BBC Singers. In 2014 his hour-long The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, commissioned for the 750th anniversary of Merton College, Oxford, was premiered in its chapel. May 2015 saw the premiere at the Latvian National Opera of Spring Rounds for soprano, choir and orchestra, commissioned by the Riga-based youth choir Kamer for their 25th anniversary. He was recently commissioned by The Marian Consort to write Stabat Mater to mark their 10th anniversary.
