Littlemore Tractus was commissioned first in 1999 so that its first performance in February 2001 would coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of the English priest, poet, nineteenth century controversialist and educationalist John Henry Newman (born 21 February 1801 died in August 1890). The words of Littlemore Tractus, originally composed by Arvo Pärt for choir and organ, come from a sermon Newman preached in 1843 in the village of Littlemore entitled: 'Wisdom and Innocence', the serm...