This evening’s programme is centred around two sets of two works that are directly influenced by each other, before ending with the filmic and energetic Dark Night of the Soul by contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo. Caroline Shaw was one of seven composers commissioned in 2016 to write a response to Dietrich Buxtehude Membra Jesu nostri, written in the 17th century. The modern work focuses not on the suffering of Jesus during the crucifixion, instead on those seeking refuge and asylum across the world. She uses fragments of text from the original alongside her own written responses to other relevant works, such as Emma Lazarus The New Colossus. To the Hands is scored for Choir and String Quintet, and employs a number of vocal and string extended techniques. We performed Edward Elgar The Spirit of the Lord as part of Wednesday’s concert, the incredible opening movement from his oratorio, The Apostles, but this evening’s performance is a premiere of an arrangement for Choir, String Quintet, and Piano. Oliver Tarney’s contemporary        re-imagining of this work for Choir and Piano follows, and we welcome for both pieces the Exon Festival Chorus, who took part in Friday’s Choral Workshop, to join The Exon Singers for the performance. Our final 2025 Festival concert ends with a spiritual journey, the Dark Night of the Soul, as expressed in three stanzas of the poem by St John of the Cross, set to passionate, exuberant, and rich music for Choir, Piano, and String Quartet by Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo. A soul rejoices in having reached a higher state, in union with God, through the journey of their “dark night” – “… no other light or guide than the one that burned in my heart.”