Transubstantio-Spatial Shrine (2018) is a name taken from a Brian Aldiss short-story called Old Hundredth. The short-story takes place in the distant future where mankind no longer dies but instead has achieved immortality by becoming music. The short-story has is named after the well-known hymn-tune, “Old Hundredth,” which is also one of the main thematic materials used in the composition of this piece. There are two chords in the work that are made from a spectral-analysis of a train horn.
“Old Hundredth” is most well known as the hymn-tune to “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow,” set by Louis Bourgeois. It is a praise song calling all living being to offer praise to God for the blessings that he has bestowed upon them. Although it may not seem obvious at first listen, however this orchestral composition falls within the same vein as the melodic intentions in Bourgeois’s setting.
