Cortege was composed for Bernard Haitink and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and received its first performance in 1989. A reminder of Matthews' intensive work on the music of Benjamin Britten and Gustav Mahler, Cortege summons the apocalyptic character of the latter and the melancholy sensitivities of the former, as well as Britten's feeling for ritual. Across its 20-minute span there are periodic summons from the timpani, calling forth ceremony and terrible exultation. Low brass heightens the work's baleful character, whilst increasingly frenzied strings keen above them.
‚Thrilling and full of passion.'
Noordhollands Dagblad, 21 December 1998