This work takes its inspiration from the images of the incredible objects, bodies and structures of the universe such as the famous ‘Pillars of Creation’ which have been captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), since its launch in December 2021.

The composer distils these into five joined sections – the first of which is a ‘Prologue’ entitled, ‘Fire and Ice’. Following this chorale Wilby states that he composed “a soundtrack to one of the JWST zoomed images, moving through space and time towards a distant and very beautifully lit nebula’.

The second section explores ‘deep field’ imagery – infinite mysterious sources that have sent their light to our eyes hundreds of thousands of years before.

A ‘Black Hole’ section mirrors the inexorable draw of matter and light into ultimate darkness, whilst ‘Nebula’ explodes thematic matter to reform into new material and new worlds – the music reflecting that iconic image of ‘The Pillars of Creation’.

An ‘Epilogue’ – ‘Ad Astra’ celebrates man’s desire to the explore the universe, its stars and the countless opportunities that the images the James Webb Space Telescope has brought us.