JAZZ meets a 14th Century poem in a piece commissioned for this year's Three Choirs Festival, which receives it's world premire tonight.

The Vision of Piers Plowman composed by Andrew Gant will be performed alongside William Walton's Symphony No 1.

Piers Plowman continues the strong flavour of jazz which has been added to this year's programme by artistic director Adrian Lucas.

In the piece Dr Gant combines this jazz flavour with the poetry of a 14th Century cleric called William Langland.

The poem has strong local links because it begins with the poet dreaming he is climbing the Malvern Hills dressed as a sheep, and the people of Malvern become representative of the whole of humaninty.

In this way Dr Gant found the opportunity for the members of the Festival Chorus to play themselves - the role of a community.

"In the festival large numbers of non-professional musicians from the community come together to make music," he said.

"If at all possible I wanted to find a piece in which the chorus were able to play the parts of themselves, representing a community and therefore by extension any community.

"The climax of the poem is a vivid and moving account of the crucifixion, and the whole is told in Langland's unique style, using a bouncy metre and almost musical fondness for alliteration and assonance which bring his characters and their situations to life."

Ironically, this 14th Century poem lends itself to being translated into jazz, said the composer who among many other things is the organist, choirmaster and composer to Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, St James's Palace.

"Jazz features in the form and structure of the work and in the actual musical material," said Dr Gant.

"The form is based closely on that of the Handelian oratorio and there are several similarities between this model and jazz which are used to generate the form."

He added that there was also a natural relationship in the ancient and modern instruments that would have been used.

"Instead of the harpsichord, cello and voice you have got the piano bass and sax." The work is scored for a small traditional jazz band, a symphony orchestra, the festival chorus and four soloists - Patricia Rozario, soprano, Lawrence Zazzo, counter tenor, Matthew Beale, tenor, and William Clements, baritone.

Mr Lucas will conduct the performance at 7.45pm today in the Cathedral.