David A.
Randall.

David A. Randall is British. He studied in the United Kingdom and is a former student of the London School of Economics. He had no formal musical training but, from an early age, he absorbed a vast classical music repertoire, attending many concerts and listening to recordings. He was associated with the Royal Opera House and was a director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He lived in Hong Kong from 1978 and settled in Monaco a few years later.

Inspiration

This work in the traditional orchestral style of the late 19th century came into being because the composer cherished an inspiration to create a symphonic work celebrating his 70th birthday in 2018.

Familiar with the repertoire and prepared by decades of analytical listening experience, he set out to find an amanuensis to assist him with the technical demands of transcribing his original concept from vocally recorded themes, melodic and rhythmic inspirations, with the intention of notating what would emerge as a large-scale composition.

Meeting Kirk Whipple

In December 2014, David met pianist and composer Kirk Whipple. They scheduled several virtual meetings to explore the possibility of a collaboration, which developed with extraordinarily productive energy, Kirk Whipple sharing an almost telepathic vision of David's objective.

The work began to take shape in 5 movements, opening with a powerful liturgical motif setting the tone for a conflict between opposing spiritual and temporal forces, sublime and sensual, in a quest for reconciliation and reincarnation.

They met several times to create David's original work in Massachusetts, in Miami and in Monaco, Kirk performing David's vocal sketches at the keyboard, and together they built the score in an arduous and meticulous manner, staff by staff, starting with an edition for piano 8 hands that would serve as an intermediate version for the fully orchestrated work.

This fruitful collaboration resulted, in summer 2016, in performances in the United States and Monte-Carlo of David's composition in the piano 8 hands version, also recorded in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Final orchestration

For the orchestral version of the symphony, the composer had the chance to collaborate with arranger Ben Foskett and Swiss conductor Philippe Béran, who guided the composer through the final preparations for the orchestral premiere.

The 5 movements

Lasting just under an hour, Paths to Redemption is composed of 5 movements: Schism, Marche grotesque, Transcendence, Immortality and Redemption. These movements metaphorically represent the composer's reflections on humanity's aspiration to a higher purpose, embracing spirituality and understanding the enigma of existence, seeking to transcend immortality.

Perhaps in a nod to Gustav Mahler, the fourth movement features a soprano soloist in a setting of the popular poem Do not stand at my grave and weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye, which holds a special place in David's affections. He wrote a second stanza — "Grieve not my passing's solemn knell" — to complete the original verse, driven by his intention to accentuate Frye's pantheistic vision and to give hope of resurrection.