I saw Eternity: the young singers of Phoenix Consort crowdfunding a new disc exploring the challenges a composer has faced through living with Multiple sclerosis.

Adam Whitmore

Adam Whitmore started the Phoenix Consort alongside his degree in Modern Languages at Durham University, and currently he also conducts the Durham University Chamber Choir. The singers in Phoenix Consort are young artists, currently or formerly students at Durham University, and emphasises the perpetuation of choral music’s influence among young people today.

They are now preparing to record their first album, they have a concept and a label on board (a number of the production team are Durham graduates) and are now crowdfunding..

The disc will feature the music of composer Alex Campkin and is based on the concept of a journey through the night, darkness, links with Alex’s own life experience and the challenges he has faced through living with Multiple sclerosis. The programme focuses on Alex's composition I saw Eternity, a work in six movements setting poignant texts by Henry Vaughan. Alex explains:

"Composing this has made me question my own background. I've used my own personal journey of having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a teenager. I explore and depict the calming emotions that I have experienced, expressed within the music. I question my understanding of eternity, hope, optimism, and I see the piece as a celebration of life.

The central part of the text is:

‘I saw Eternity the other night,

Like a great ring of pure and endless light,

All calm, as it was bright’

Other pieces include my compositions Veiled by night, Everlasting voices, Sleep, True love, Calm me o Lord, and World of merriment.

The album takes the listener on a calming, peaceful journey through night, light and eternity, using the medium of choral music."

You can read more about Adam Whitmore and the Phoenix Consort in Adam's interview with Expressive Audio, and do support their Crowdfunder.