Alec Roth (1948) is an English composer. He is best known for his collaboration with

Vikram Seth Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has won several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crosswor ...

to produce the opera ''Arion and the Dolphin'' in 1994 based on the myth of

Arion Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of ...

. Roth studied music from 1976 as a mature student at Durham University, having previously completed a science degree at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

. He earned a doctorate from Durham in 1986. His thesis was entitled ''New composition for Javanese gamelan''.

Works, editions and recordings

* ''California Songbook'' - settings of poems written by

when he was living on the West Coast of the US * ''Sometime I Sing'' - settings for solo voice and guitar, including: My Lute and I; Dark Night; 3 Night Songs; Autumnal; English Folk Songs; Lights Out. Mark Padmore, Morgan Szymanski piano. Signum Records, 2013 * ''Earthrise'' (2009) - A choral work inspired by the photograph of the same name taken from lunar orbit in 1968, considering the positive and negative sides of the human race's mastery and control of the world. The work was commissioned by the UK choir Ex Cathedra for the 40th anniversary of its founding, which was in the same year (2009) as the 40th anniversary of the

Moon landing A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959. The United S ...

. It was written for 40-part choir, on the model of

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one o ...

's famous ''

Spem in alium ''Spem in alium'' (Latin for "Hope in any other") is a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis, composed in c. 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. H. B. ...

''. ''Earthrise'' also includes an example of eye music - in the central two pages of the work, the music's layout spells out the word 'ecce' (the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

for 'behold') as the choir sings the same word. * ''A Time to Dance'' (2012) - An oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra on the theme of the seasons of the year, the times of day and the stages of the human lifespan.Alec Roth
Notes to CD "A Time to Dance"
Hyperion Records CDA68144. Hyperion Records, 2016

References

External links

Alec Roth homepage
English composers 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of Nottingham Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Gamelan English male composers 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians {{UK-composer-stub