University of York Music Press

Qibti represents the second of three related orchestral works; the first, Vixen, was premiered at the Cheltenham Festival by the BBC SO in 1997. Qibti was inspired by Hoyland's visiting an exhibition of Egyptian Coptic Fabrics in Como, and he created what The Guardian calls "a vivid play between surface detail and slower, architectonic lines. Individual pitches pass from one section of the orchestra to another, creating shimmering patterns, like a kaleidoscopic view of single musical objects". Hoyland's own 'tapestry' reflects the Egyptian liturgical texts, both of which, according to the composer, lead us "through a specific sequence of Doors and Transformations".