The music for Hallowed Passages is Lacrimae for piano and viola opus 48 by Benjamin Britten. It is based on a theme of variations of a lullaby by John Dowland.
“That is more or less what the ballet is for me,” says Philip Taylor, “Like a lullaby. Sleep is ‘the final passage’. One can be chased inwards or outwards by something. What that something might be, the audience gets to decide. A thought fluttering past which, once noticed, can reveal itself to be so strong that it stays in the memory or perhaps grows into a larger thought. Like a seed that is planted and grows either inside or outside of oneself.”
Philip Taylor expressed that he hoped the audience, when they see his ballet, will feel that they are participating and engaged. That they cannot help but be carried away.
The ballet is choreographed for three dancers. Taylor expressed that he thought it would be interesting that the different casts at the Cullberg Ballet would be mixed gender.
The ballet was originally choreographed for the Nederlands Dans Theater during their 1984/85 season.