Solfa Carlile is an prominent young British composer. She graduated from Royal College of Music, London, in 2009. She was a composer in residence in London Irish Symphony Orchestra. BBC Singers often sing her songs and the most prestigious English ensembles performed them. “Upon the Rose” was created on May 3, 2013 by The Irish Chamber Orchestra, it won the 1st prize in Cork International Choral Festival, Ireland. Joseph Mary Plunkett was an nationalist Irish poet, he was very active politically. He expressed his faith in his poems. They are written with lyricism and sometimes mysticism, particularly in “I See His Blood Upon The Rose.” Solfa Carlile uses a flexible, harmonic, and lyrical language. Whispering and singing are mixed. She expresses her love for the sea and its mysteries, which echoes with Joseph Mary Plunket’s poems. This work is very interesting but is rather intended for quite expert choirs.
