Frank Denyer’s The Fish that became the Sun (Songs of the Dispossessed) stands as one of the most ambitious and singular orchestral creations of recent decades. Conceived over several years and premiered over twenty years after completion, this piece distills Denyer’s fascination with sonic diversity and theatrical intensity. The score assembles a phantasmagoria of acoustic colors: alongside chorus and solo violin, one encounters sitar, crumhorns, cimbalom, children’s songs, and a host of constructed and “junk” instruments that shift the work’s sound world constantly.
Denyer’s approach is immersive and textural, with small instrumental groupings appearing and dissolving in space, their tuning and timbres often idiosyncratic. The music moves through discrete scenes and emotional states, evoking a procession of rituals, memories, and mythic transformations. While echoes of Harry Partch and George Crumb can be traced in the overall design, Denyer’s individual aesthetic - that strange intersection between raw, nature-like sounds and careful structural planning - makes the piece compellingly unique. Choral parts hover wordlessly, as if to layer human presence on a mythic landscape.
Each section contrasts subtlety and eruption, placing listeners amid a theatre of shifting perspectives. Objects and instruments made from discarded materials highlight themes of redemption and creation from loss, supported by the children’s voices whose brief lyrics carry haunting ambiguity. The work builds its narrative around a transformation: the fish’s journey becomes an allegory for hope, dispossession, and renewal, all marked by Denyer’s refusal to offer definitive closure. The performance by Octandre Ensemble, New London Chamber Choir, and distinguished soloists brings an exceptional clarity and force to this sprawling and delicately wrought score. The Fish that became the Sun ultimately leaves the listener suspended between ritual and myth, sound and silence, insisting that expectation and understanding remain open throughout its journey.
