One Touch of Nature

for soprano and alto solo, SSATB, and piano or strings The title of this life-affirming six-movement work comes from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: 'One touch of nature makes the whole world kin'. Through a compilation of texts by writers such as Algernon Charles Swinburne, Bessie Rayner Parkes, Rabindranath Tagore, and John Burroughs, the piece explores our fractured relationship with the natural world and nature's powerful ability to renew itself. Dudley crafts a compelling dialogue between the characterful choral parts and the highly expressive string writing, creating a rich and powerful narrative around this important subject. Listeners can revel in a sumptuous soundworld while finding a reflective space to consider their own relationship with the natural world, before the soprano soloist draws the work to a close by inviting us to wonder 'How far are we from home?'