Composed around the same time as the War Requiem, this short choral work was composed for the 1400th anniversary of the founding of Iona Abbey, specifically the journey by St Columba from Ireland to the isle of Iona.
The text, a hymn attributed to Columba, is based on the Dies Irae sequence from the Requiem mass – the day of judgement. This sense of fear and dread is heard in the organ part with its urgent ostinato in the pedals, and the instruction from Britten to sing ‘with fire’.
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