Still (2017)

Thomas Carling (b. 1997) — Still (2017) for organ

English composer Thomas Carling (b. 1997) had his early musical education at the Wells Cathedral School followed by studies in composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. His primary teachers include Paul Whitmarsh and James Weeks.

“Still” (2017) was commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine as part of their New Music Iniative. It is a response to a painting by the artist David Brian Smith (b. 1981; http://www.davidbriansmith.com). Carling noted that “he first came across Smith’s work in the Saatchi Gallery in London and was blown away by the color and imagination of it. In Still, the water is the focal point, both the source of light in the painting and reflection of that source. The filmic drama of the scene is really heightened, but it becomes wonderfully calm almost by accident. I’ve tried to draw on the dramatic contrast he achieves between the benign landscape and the enthralling light of the water, while maintaining the wonderful calm of his painting.”