Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks, written in 1997, was commissioned from Nyman by the English Sinfonia. The work he gave them is a five-movement orchestral work based on the String Quartet No. 4, which in turn was based on the solo violin work, by Yamamoto Perpetuo.
He dedicated the work to Simon Jeffes, founder of the Penguin Café Orchestra, and a friend and colleague. Jeffes died on 11 December 1997. Nyman was orchestrating the final page when he learned of his death, and in honour of him, styled 4-note pizzicato chords in the style of Jeffes's ukulele work.
The Protecting Veil is a work composed by John Tavener in 1987 and premiered in 1989, based on his conversion from the Anglican Church to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is scored for strings with a solo cello, but unlike in a concerto, the cello part is an "endless arch" in the style of music from Byzantium rather than being virtuosic.
Track listing
First movement 3'50"
Second movement 3'30"
Third movement 3'02"
Fourth movement 3'05"
Fifth movement 2'47"
The Protecting Veil 9'35"
The Nativity of the Mother of God 6'26"
The Annunciation 3'33"
The Incarnation 4'32"
The Lament of the Mother of God at the Cross 11'41"
