Tàmâr Mĕtūshelāh

Commissioned by Gautier Capuçon  (September 2025 by Warner Classics/Erato France)

In this piece, I chose not to focus on humanity’s disasters or gloomy scenarios. Instead, I turned to the resilience of nature—its irrepressible vitality. It is in this enduring force that I see a foundation for hope in the future. The coming generations will face immense challenges and will need to draw upon the full range of their remarkable resources—both material and spiritual. To mobilize those resources, I believe we need hope, not fear.
 The inspiration behind the piece was the astonishing story of Methuselah, a date palm that sprouted from a 2,000-year-old seed and was named after the oldest person in the Bible: a tree that stands as a living symbol of the past, of resilience and renewal.

LIMINA LUMINIS

Commissioned by BBC PROMS for Anna Lapwood (Premiered at Royal Albert Hall on July 2023 and released in May 2025 by Sony Classical)

“Limina Luminis” means “the Threshold of Light”and it is a  metaphorical and spiritual journey towards light which for me represents the symbol of knowledge and understanding. It may compare to the  “Overview Effect” that it's the cognitive change perceived by many astronauts when they look at the Earth from space for the first time. Psyche, emotionality and spirituality seem overwhelmed by the dramatic change of perspective that occurs during space travel in Earth's orbit or towards the Moon, when our world suddenly appears as a fragile sphere in the immensity of the Universe. A unique and rare place that is our home, the home of all humanity. Without territorial borders and social, racial or religious divisions.

Prelude

Arrangend for guitar by Michael Lewin, performed by Alexandra Whittingham and Plinio Fernandes (August 2024 - Decca Classics)

Originally written for piano solo it was included in my EP Somnio Novo. “Prélude” is at the same time a reference to Chopin’s “24 Préludes”, but also to the most emblematic of the Preludes: the First Prelude of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
Through the evocation of the flowing water, the almost hypnotic calm of the flowing arpeggios and a delicate hint of singing in the high voice, it tells of a desire for spring, of a promise for a peaceful future.