Inspiration From Place
- Dominic McGonigal
- Jan 12
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 13
It’s hardly surprising that the inspiration for My Holy Place came from holy places – churches and mountains.
10 days ago, I sat here in the Church of S. Nicolas, Brussels and wrote the nuggets of My Holy Place in my notebook. Now, I sit here listening to the whole piece. I am surrounded by beautiful images, light dancing on gilt, candles flickering with hope, arches embracing the eternal. And I am listening to My Holy Place. I am transported. I don’t know where this music comes from, even though I know it was in my head ten days ago in this very place.
It started in St Nicholas Church in Brussels, a stone’s throw from the Grand Place, but a serene haven. I took a break there, away from the post Christmas hubbub and wrote the first sketches of My Holy Place.
Then I walked up the hill to the Cathédrale des Saints Michel et Gudule and spent some quiet moments letting the sketches develop, the harmony enriched with overlapping choral lines.
I let those sketches gestate for ten days, confident that the creative subconscious would do its thing while I was enjoying the mountains in Val d’Isère. This morning we visited the beautiful church of St Bernard de Menthon, a baroque haven with the most beautiful altar backdrop with ornate gilt decoration, reminiscent of the holy heart of an Orthodox church.
I hadn’t intended to work on the piece during the 7 hour train journey back to Brussels, but something in the snow covered mountain scenery, and the ten days of gestation, turned the sketches effortlessly into the finished piece.
Church of St Nicholas, Brussels
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