People who enjoy reading religious books would enjoy this novel, as it explores ones’ own sense of religion, making the reader question oneself about how they had treated their religion. Also, people who enjoy romance novels would enjoy this book. Instead of it being a book about two people falling in love, it’s about two people having to learn how to fall in love again to make a good example for their family. People who enjoy reading a long, slightly more challenging read would also enjoy this book because it makes a person question their own morals on multiple levels. Generally anyone who enjoys a good book that challenges their mind would thoroughly enjoy this book. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Alec Roth’s new cantata is a celebration of times and seasons, and a joy to hear. Also included are new settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis and of George Herbert’s Antiphon ‘Praised be the God of love’.

Time to Dance, music comes into being when the air is made to dance. For me, the most inspiring composer from this point of view is Bach. His music is infused with the spirit of dance. He must have been a great dancer – just look at the pedal parts in some of his organ works! Even in the most deeply felt movements of the great Passion settings, his music sets the spirit dancing. And for me, the measure of great Bach performers is the way they make the music dance. That’s one reason why I feel so privileged to work with Ex Cathedra’s inspirational conductor, Jeffrey Skidmore. So yes, I spend quite a lot of time both singing and dancing around when I’m composing, although I make great efforts not to disturb the neighbours.I hope this fine recording will bring it to the attention of a wider public, as it deserves. I hope also that other choirs will take it up, especially as it can be performed on modern instruments.”

Occasionally I’d find something which hit both nails on the head – Marlowe’s “In summer’s heat and mid-time of the day”, for example. But the key question for any text is will it set well to music? My way of discovering this is to take the words for a walk, speaking them out loud, internalising their inherent musical qualities and discovering whether they move me, and how they make me move. One of the things I most enjoy about performances at Shakespeare’s Globe on London’s Bankside is that when the play is over, the actors and musicians cap it with a celebratory after-dance or ‘jig’ in the Shakespearean tradition—a wonderful way of bringing performers and audience together in a communal letting-down-of-the-hair. After spending fifty minutes singing about dance, I thought it would be fun to have my singers lay down their music scores (I ensure they have to do this by giving them some hand-clapping to do), and actually dance. My After-dance sets words by Shakespeare’s contemporary John Davies, in which the very creation of the world itself is accomplished through dance (and, of course music). It is a pity Ms Kirwan seems to regret her role because of the publicity it received at the time. She was only 19 and felt she did not have enough support. Choral societies are hungry beasts and there are only so many Rutter Glorias they can consume. With A Time to Dance Roth has provided a serious alternative—a contemporary work of real character and energy. The description and being in the mind of the main character was certainly convincing. This was less true of two female characters: his lover and his wife. To enjoy a fully-rounded character a reader expects grey and possibly dark grey aspects. Both these women were above criticism. The lover, Bernadette, becomes a very active, uninhibited, monogamous and amorous lover; not what you might expect of a teenage rape victim without the same relentlessly investigative treatment as the protagonist receives. Her moral development is totally out of kilter with her upbringing. Angela, the wife, is a sadly perfect person.It is indeed true that there were some raunchy scenes between the two main characters but they were entirely appropriate and in keeping with the plot. Roth’s long relationship with Jeffrey Skidmore and Ex Cathedra has already yielded the exceptional Shared Ground (Signum, 2011), and their follow-up collaboration is even stronger. A Time to Dance is an hour-long cantata for a quartet of SATB soloists, choir and orchestra (here a Baroque band, inspired by the work’s original commission as a companion piece for Bach’s Magnificat), with all the makings of a modern classic—a work you’d want to perform and, crucially, perform again.

A strong quartet of soloists move through the seasons: Grace Davidson is bright, spring soprano, Samuel Boden sensuous, Brittenish summer; Matthew Venner’s countertenor is autumn and bass Greg Skidmore completes the year as winter. All come together with the massed forces of Ex Cathedra (on typically fine form) for a stately Globe-style jig, bringing this immensely attractive cycle to its exuberant close. Bernard MacLaverty is an Irish writer with a "Belfast accent, which has never left him, despite having lived and worked in Edinburgh, Glasgow and, remarkably, Islay in the Inner Hebrides." (The Irish Voice) He may have lived for many years in Scotland but much of his work has focused on Ireland or alludes to the country, including his five novels, Cal , Lamb , Grace Notes , The Anatomy School and Midwinter Break . MacLaverty is still very much seen as an Irish writer rather than a Scottish one and yet a story like 'A Time to Dance' manages to capture the city, Edinburgh, in which it is set while also making clear the main characters are very much from elsewhere. A Time to Dance' is a compelling, evocative & highly captivating drama set in and around The Lake District, Cumbria, England. So why 3 stars? The story gripped me and I couldn't put it down. I appreciate that kind of writing in fiction. John is caught up in the fight between lust and staying true to his wife. The Girl he waited for was gone, his personal cheerleader was gone, and the person who believed in him more than he believed in himself was gone! She didn’t listen to him anymore, she didn’t care about his wants and needs, all she did was fight and scold. With their marriage dead for the past four years and John finding a new best friend - who is everything Abby was in the beginning - who could blame her?Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh… The descriptions - though at their best in doing so - don’t always cover the sex and love between the couple but also incorporate the narrator’s (and I presume Bragg’s) love of the Lake District. You use the chimes of the handbells at strategic points to denote the passing of time – striking the hours of three, six and so on – and the work’s diverse texts tightly integrate the times of day, of the year and of human life. How did you manage to find texts reflecting all three parallel progressions as closely as your music does?