Recording of the first movement “Roncesvalles” from “Path of Miracles” by Joby Talbot. The choir Tenebrae sings under Nigel Short.

The English composer Joby Talbot wrote this work in 2005 on behalf of the ensemble Tenebrae under the direction of Nigel Short. It is set for 17-part mixed choir a cappella SSSSSAAAATTTTBBBB and Crotales.

This four-movement work describes a pilgrimage along four of the most important stations of the Way of St. James to Santiago: I Roncesvalles, II Burgos, III León, IV Santiago. The composer dedicated the composition to his father, who died in the year of composition. The premiere, which was scheduled for 07.07.2005 in London, had to be postponed due to the bombings on this day and took place on 17.07.2015 in the St. Bartholomew-the-Great Church in London.

The first movement begins the pilgrimage in Roncesvalles with a mystical sound ascending in glissandi, based on the Pasibutbut of the Bunun from Taiwan. The instruction to use different vowels other than /i/ is interpreted by the ensemble – similar to the Pasibutbut – as an overtone chanting. Already on the first four pages, the work demands an enormous range from A1 to C7.