Robert Walker’s musical education began as a chorister at St. Matthew’s, Northampton—a church with a long history of commissions from such composers as Britten, Tippett, and Finzi. He studied at Cambridge and was, for a time, Professor of Composition at the London College of Music, before emigrating to Thailand. The short anthem As the apple tree dates from 1982 when it was written for the marriage of Walker’s nephew. The setting of words from the Song of Songs is dedicated, “To my father, who only likes the black notes”. The undulating and long melismatic phrases of both choir and organ give the effect of a tree swaying in the breeze and this impression is heightened towards the end where Walker resorts to an aleatoric effect—each voice singing the main theme freely in a hushed murmur.

from notes by Rupert Gough © 2008