With the decision to convert this one piece into a four-movement suite came further visits to Highgrove, and I have been thoroughly inspired by witnessing the different seasons weaving their individual characters into the landscape of this special place. The second movement The Wildflower Meadow is a ‘paen’ of joy, sometimes tinged with nostalgia and a sense of wonder. Here the garden is at its most free - free to rejoice in its own shapes, textures and colours and relatively free to grow without man’s interference. It is more naturally able to move from one scene of its life to the next, speaking with honesty and praise for its heavenly Creator.

The Sanctuary sits in the magnificent area of the garden know as the arboretum. The lofty, sweeping trees almost create the effect of a great cathedral, and sitting humbly within its walls is the chapel built by His Royal Highness to mark the new millennium. Above the entrance to The Sanctuary are the words ‘Lighten our darkness we beseech thee O Lord’, which are taken from the Third Collect at evening prayer and it is this prayer that forms the foundation of the third movement Sanctuary. The central melody is in effect a plainsong setting of the words, and the slow-building climaxes within the music suggest this is a place that can touch the heart deeply. The indication to the players at the start of the movement is ‘with a deep sense of longing’.