The score is available for free download until 31 May 2025.

Growing up in Oxford, at the age of four Sarah Frances Jenkins began taking piano lessons at the Matrix arts centre, featuring the Yamaha Music School, which takes a structured approach to long-term musical formation through a mixture of individual and group lessons. This formed a big part of her musical education until the age of 18. One tutor stands out: ‘Lindsay MacKenzie, who runs the school, lit up our brains and instilled a deep love of music in us. As well as piano there were group singing, clapping exercises, and a focus on listening first. That helped nurture our ears and revealed the possibilities of sound, as well as developing our reading. It gave me a love of collaboration and of music being very much a connected thing.’ The students were encouraged to come up with their own musical ideas. ‘That’s when I started writing short pieces.’ Clarinet tuition and ensemble playing, provided by the county music service, broadened Jenkins’ experience and she credits her state school music teachers with encouraging her to explore. ‘I remember spending most break times in the music department composing!’

A supportive family enabled Jenkins to attend concerts from an early age and exposed her to all kinds of music. ‘In the car, one second we’d be listening to Radiohead, then it would be Ravel … I’m so grateful for that eclectic mixture of things.’ Knowing that she wanted to pursue music, with clarinet as a principal study, she applied to universities and conservatoires, uncertain about which path to take. A visit to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) made her mind up. ‘There’s something about the teachers there and the atmosphere of the place that just grabbed me.’ Although Jenkins entered and left the RWCMD as a clarinettist, she approached head of composition John Hardy for advice. ‘He was so encouraging and became a mentor to me; I was at a crossroads, unsure whether to focus on clarinet or composing, and he helped me see that I could do both. At that time, I had felt self-conscious about writing tonal music and I remember him saying something wonderful – that there are many ways to develop and expand your own voice technically and musically, while staying true to what you really feel you want to say as a composer. That gave me the confidence to write primarily tonal music.’

Continuing to postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM), composition officially took root as a second study there. Being immersed in her studies at the RCM helped Jenkins to expand her musical language. She was commissioned to write works for two of her clarinet professors (Robert Plane from the RWCMD and Richard Hosford at the RCM). ‘This was another transformative experience, knowing I was composing for two teachers who I admired so much.’ Winning the BBC Young Composer competition in 2017 provided a springboard to further schemes and
new opportunities.

And the Sun Stood Still (BBC Concert Orchestra, 2018) was Jenkins’ first orchestral work. There is a combining of austere, brooding colours and a warmth to the sustained string writing. The piano enters and begins to drive the music in a more rhythmic direction adding refreshing colour. The undulating textures and gently fluctuating dynamics create a sense of breathing; the balance of instrumental colour is delicate. Creating momentum and retaining structure in a soundscape of stasis such as this requires precision. ‘It was daunting to begin with, when there were no dots on the page… it felt like a surreal dream. But I was fortunate to have a workshop with the orchestra and conductor – the late Bramwell Tovey – halfway through the writing process. They were so willing to try out my ideas and give me constructive advice, and that was the fuel I needed to finish the piece.’ Writing it felt like an organic process because Jenkins would work on it in the evenings after a day of clarinet studies. ‘I was excited to have such an extensive colour palette to use.’

Much of Jenkins’ music is inspired by the natural world. The First Swallow (for clarinet quintet, commissioned by Richard Hosford, 2022) based on a poem by Charlotte Smith, was rescored for clarinet and string orchestra and premiered (by Robert Plane) at Presteigne in 2023. This is a more extensive work, approaching 18 minutes’ duration. There is a modality to the clarinet writing and string textures reminiscent of Vaughan Williams. ‘The process was very collaborative and it was exciting to adapt the piece for larger forces.’ The language reflects what Jenkins knew her teachers would respond to, as well as evoking the rich timbres that she knew they would make. ‘There is a pastoral influence, and I’ve always loved Vaughan Williams and the expansive nature of
his music.’

Although Jenkins is contributing an organ piece to our New Music series, she has also written this year for The Marian Consort as one of seven composers in the 2024 Royal Philharmonic Society composers’ programme. Her eight-part choral work Halfway to Zenith reflects on extracts from William Morris’ epic poem The Earthly Paradise and was premiered by TMC in July at the Ryedale Festival at Castle Howard, in the chapel decorated by Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. ‘Workshopping that piece with TMC pushed me to open up my harmonic language, responding to the sounds that they were making. I was able to send sketches to director Rory McCleery who gave me incredibly helpful feedback.’

While writing her New Music organ piece, Lux et Umbra, Jenkins received some fruitful mentoring from Nicholas Morris who will give the premiere performance. ‘I hadn’t written for organ before, and it’s an instrument that has always intrigued me. Nick’s advice made it much less daunting;
he guided me through the technical challenges and showed me how best to
make my ideas work.’

The score is both approachable and atmospheric. Notes lie comfortably under the fingers and feet, and suggestions for colours and dynamics leave scope for performers to choose their own registrations. How would Jenkins describe the music and its interpretation? ‘The title “Light and Shadow” refers to the tension between two contrasting pieces of musical material; some are bright, using the upper colours of the organ, others are dark, heavy, looming sounds. It’s the first time I have explored bitonality and there was something about the organ that encouraged me to do that.’ Contrasting registrations will help to characterise the light and shadow effectively. ‘If I’m lucky enough to have a piece performed more than once, I love hearing how performers choose to interpret things differently.’

With the experience of writing for orchestra, vocal ensembles and chamber forces, can Jenkins envision a direction to her development? ‘Early in a composer’s career, when you’re just starting out, it can sometimes seem a bit like hopscotch. You try to jump from one opportunity to another.’ Now, Jenkins senses that she is beginning to move from that mindset to a more sustainable approach to being a composer. ‘Can my work as a composer help others? What’s my purpose in writing a piece? I am trying to write music that speaks to and connects with people, perhaps with those who have never been to concerts.’ Jenkins wants to move away from the introspection of the composition process: ‘I want it to become a much more outward-facing thing – what difference can I make?’

Download the score

The score for Lux et Umbra, commissioned by Choir & Organ in partnership with The Marian Consort, is available to download and perform until 28 February 2024.

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