Ben Ponniah

Seeing the star

Ben Ponniah started singing at St Mary-le-Tower Church in 1990 when he was six years old. John Cooper was the Organist and Director of Music at the time, followed by Michael Nicholas. Seeing the star is the composer's way of saying thank you to St Mary-le-Tower for providing such an inspiring choral education. In this piece, the wonderment of the Wise Men is captured, as they look up at the star on their journey to the baby Jesus. The soprano part (which includes minimal divisi) is initially characterised by increasing intervals, to reflect the upward gaze of the Wise Men. Tone clusters are used to create a shimmering starlight effect. A short, effective and approachable new carol for Epiphany or Christmas.