The 23-24th September sees the première of Janet’s latest choral work, a commissioned anthem for Requiem to Cancer – This Moment of Here and Now. Requiem to Cancer takes the form of a 24-hour Come and Sing in which participants sing four requiems interspersed with the specially composed anthem.
Janet’s words explore different ways of focussing on the present moment and the benefits that flow from that. The music starts from the idea of breathing in and out as a means of achieving calm, banishing worry and living in the present moment.
The five-minute piece exists in two versions – one accompanied by piano and soprano saxophone and the other accompanied by piano alone. Both versions will be performed over the course of the event.
The piece is dedicated to Requiem to Cancer and to the memory of its founder Simon Wood, who died in 2019. Simon began Requiem to Cancer in 2016, and the 2022 event – postponed by two years because of the pandemic – will be the third and final one. It takes place at St Paul’s Church Covent Garden.