Before 2008, Nigel Westlake was simply one of our most successful composers, his many film scores complementing a growing acclaim in the concert hall. After 2008, he became a father in mourning. It was in this year that Westlake’s 21-year-old son Eli was killed, leaving the composer deep in grief and suddenly bereft of meaning. It took a whole year before Westlake could compose again and he turned to a work that, ironically, he’d already sketched before Eli’s death. Missa Solis builds on themes from Westlake’s earlier film score Solarmax, transforming mythological and astronomical references to the sun into a hymn to his tragically lost son. The 16th-century ode from which Missa Solis grows takes on a new weight in this context: “My joy is born every time I gaze at my beautiful sun”. Added to this are texts from Shakespeare, Pharaoh Akhenaten and The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

Across its eight movements, this secular mass is a focused refinement of what Westlake does best, drawing together perfectly crafted miniatures sculpted with imaginative colour and lingering emotion. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are at their peak throughout, in clear artistic sympathy under Westlake’s guidance. The solo...