The next stop is....Angel was originally written for the BCMG. It is a white knuckle ride for chamber ensemble. During 2000 I experienced a virus that affected my brain, causing balance and sight problems. Whilst suffering from this I had to take a journey to Angel tube station. The jolting of the ride was a gruelling experience and and on arrival at Angel a computer voice stated “the next stop is...Angel”. This strange portent of death caused the piece to immediately form in my head.
The work was chosen by Richard Rodney Bennett for the 60th anniversary of the SPNM concert at the 2003 Spitalfields Festival where it was performed by the Britten Sinfonia and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as one of the festival highlights. It was described by the London Evening Standard as “the most striking piece”, whilst the Independent maintained it contained “wit, seriousness and invention”.