The Holy Tree

This piece was inspired by a stained glass window, specially commissioned by the Dutch Church from Thomas Denny, which references the Tree of Life in its imagery.

This brought to mind Yeats’ poem ‘The Two Trees’, and particularly the opening section.

I have used the word ‘beloved’, and the gentle motif it conjured up for me, as a refrain throughout the setting. The shifting, vibrant colours of the glass, and of the poem, are reflected in the harmonies and rising vocal lines.

The Holy Tree was commissioned for the 475th anniversary of the Dutch Church, and first performed on 26th July 2025 at the Dutch Church, by a vocal ensemble directed by Greg Hallam, with David Titterington, organ.

Text: from ‘The Two Trees’ by W.B. Yeats

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,

The holy tree is growing there;

From joy the holy branches start,

And all the trembling flowers they bear.

The changing colours of its fruit

Have dowered the stars with merry light;

The surety of its hidden root

Has planted quiet in the night;

The shaking of its leafy head

Has given the waves their melody,

And made my lips and music wed,

Murmuring a wizard song for thee.