As usual with creativity many aspects of Brian’s work form an overlap with each other like Boolean circles. One thread of the work is a sense of place, for there is no escaping the fact that Brian is a Welshman concerned about Wales and its people. In particular, poets such as Waldo Williams and R.S.Thomas, whose works have always fascinated him and prompted the creation of pieces such as ‘Gathering of Leaves No 1 – Vision; Symphony No 1. 

A further major source of ideas is the work of John Clare, the nineteenth century “peasant poet” whose own sense of place, and poetry, interacted so tragically with high aesthetic principles. Brian’s works that grew from Clare range from ‘Reveries and False Hums’ to a trilogy of orchestral pieces ‘The Persistent Reality of Illusion’.

Fundamental to Brian’s outlook in the arts is that they should, for him, be concerned with the human condition. This has led him to respond to events and aspects of life which have people at their heart, eg Symphony No 1 is a positive portrayal of the innate spirit in us all, disregarding religion; Marwnad is a personal response to the horrific tragedy of Aberfan.

Music, like all the arts, has to concern itself with the balance of form and content, but particularly the process of structuring time. His understanding of modern and past practices has enabled Brian to develop his own contemporary language, which is fundamental to his approach to crafting his music.