THE inaugural Hereford Three Choirs Festival Choral Composition Competition run in association with Hereford Cathedral Voluntary Choir and Novello Publishers, has been won by George Arthur from South London with Prayer of Thomas Ken, an a cappella setting for double choir of ‘Glory to thee, my God, this night’.

Composers aged 30 and under were invited to submit a short setting of a sacred text, suitable for performance as an introit to a service of Choral Evensong. Five pieces shortlisted from 82 entries were rehearsed and performed by Hereford Cathedral Voluntary Choir (HCVC), conducted by Peter Dyke, assistant director of music at the cathedral, at a workshop last month.

The competition forms part of the 2015 Three Choirs Festival programme, marking the 300th anniversary of the event, and is supported by the Friends of Hereford Three Choirs Festival.

"I was delighted by the five pieces we shortlisted," said Peter Dyke. "Each composer responded very thoughtfully to the task of writing an Evensong introit that would be rehearsed in just 15 minutes. All the music had much to commend it, but George Arthur’s Prayer of Thomas Ken created a beautiful meditative atmosphere with relatively simple means, despite going into eight parts for a few bars, and its poised harmony and hushed ending will form a perfect start to the Three Choirs Festival Evensong on Sunday, July 26."

Commenting on the competition experience, George Arthur said: "The brief to write an introit was such an appealing one: the opportunity to capture the excitement of Evensong in a piece that should feel almost like a single breath, starting softly, building in the middle and disappearing as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. It is a big responsibility; if the introit is wrong it can mislead us as to everything that follows – when it is right we should feel ready in heart and mind for the liturgy that follows."