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The Long Wait for Revelation: A Review of Tyshawn Sorey’s LatestTyshawn Sorey’s Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) challenges the modern listener with an 80-minute duration that unfolds slowly, serving as a profound meditation on the work of Morton Feldman. Subtitled "A meditation on Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel," the piece uses a similar ensemble of percussion, keyboards, viola, choir, and solo voice to create an abstract dialogue of rhythms and pitches. However, unlike Feldman’s 30-minute tribute, Sorey’s work sprawls across nearly an hour and a half, delaying its thematic resolution until the final bars.An Echo of Feldman: Structure and DurationThe composition serves as a structural homage to Morton Feldman, utilizing a sparse instrumentation that allows silence to speak. The European premiere at St Giles’ Cripplegate highlighted the contrast between the opening's barely detectible murmur of tubular bells and the closing revelation of the African American spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." This shift transforms the long duration from a test of patience into a journey of discovery, anchoring the abstract musical architecture in deep cultural history.The Performance Metrics: Ensemble and AtmosphereThe success of the piece relies heavily on the technical precision of the performers. The BBC Singers provided a luminous backdrop with their wordless notes, creating a blend so clean it seemed synthesised. Key performances included the gritty yet characterful vocals of bass-baritone Davóne Tines and the dense, harmonic viola work of Ruth Gibson. The GBSR Duo (George Barton and Siwan Rhys) maintained a tireless communication on percussion and piano, adding elemental rumbling and glistening sheen to the soundscape.The Role of the Spiritual in Modern CompositionSorey’s approach to composition bridges the gap between abstract modernism and traditional spirituals. By weaving in the spiritual only at the very end, the composer ensures that the emotional weight of the work is felt acutely. This technique contrasts with the meandering nature of the opening, where pinpricks of dissonance and slow-motion scatterings of instrumental lines initially feel aimless before coalescing into a cohesive whole.The Future of Long-Form Contemporary MusicThe reception of Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) suggests a continued appetite for immersive, long-form contemporary compositions. The upcoming Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine at the Barbican, London, on 20 October, indicates that audiences are ready to engage with complex, meditative works that prioritize atmosphere over immediate gratification.