Above the Water: for SSAATTBB Choir

Above the Water was commissioned by the Sydney Chamber Choir for its fortieth anniversary. During: 7 min. The text, by John Carroll, and Rabanus Maurus, combines the words of the hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus, with two poems by John Carroll, which recollect scenes of water birds at Lake Menindee. The hymn melody forms a thread through most of the work, in fragments or whole phrases. In this context the water birds of Menindee take on a metaphorical significance in relation to the human spirit and loss, and the title, taken from the second poem, makes reference to the Spirit hovering over the deep in Genesis.