Programme Arvo Pärt Bogoróditse Djévo Carlo Gesualdo O Vos Omnes Alonso Lobo Versa est in luctum Benjamin Britten Concord (No.2, Choral Dances from ‘Gloriana) Ralph Vaughan Williams The Turtle Dove Soloist: Jonathan Bell John Ireland The Hills Thomas Dorsey arr. Louise Marshall Precious Lord Soloist: Josh Robinson Joanna Marsh An extra day Jaakko Mäntyjarvi Pseudo-Yoik —INTERVAL-- Sergei Rachmaninoff Pridite, poklonimsya (from the All-Night-Vigil) William Harris Bring Us, O Lord God Anton Bruckner Locus Iste Richard Allain Lullaby (World Premiere) Soloist: Anne-Marie Cullum Eric Whitacre With a lily in your hand Bob Chilcott Swimming Over London Soloist: Jeremy James Anders Edenroth Chilli Con Carne Simon & Garfunkel arr. Louise Marshall Bridge over Troubled Water Thank you to In this Room for our 25th anniversary artwork and to NightOwl for our multimedia production.  Programme notes Arvo Pärt Bogoróditse Djévo (Ave Maria) This short (1min), punchy setting of the Ave Maria was Chantage’s opening number in the choir’s winning set at the Adult Finals of BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year 2006. Arvo Pärt was born in Paide, Estonia, a small town near Tallinn where he would later study composition under Heino Eller at the famous Tallinn Conservatory. Pärt earned notoriety in the 1960’s for his use of serial technique and expressionism, but then ceased composing for several years while he studied plainchant and early French and Franco-Flemish polyphony. During this period he developed a new tonal style, based around the idea that the three notes of a triad have a bell-like quality to their sound. He termed this 'tintinnabuli' (from the Latin, “little bells”). The Soviet Union’s occupation of Estonia in 1944 (which would last for almost 50 years) had a profound effect on Pärt’s life and music. Under the occupation all traditional musical forms were completely stifled, and his frustration ultimately forced him, his wife Nora and their two sons, to emigrate in 1980. Since leaving Estonia, Pärt has concentrated on setting religious texts, which have proved popular with choirs and ensembles around the world. This setting of the Bogoróditse Djévo was written in 1990 as a special gift to the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and their conductor, Stephen Cleobury. Translation: Bogoród̃itse D̃évo, ráduys̃ia Blagodátnaya Mar̃íye, Ghospód s Tobóyu. Blagosloṽénna Tï v zhenáẖ, i blagosloṽén Plod chr̃éva Tvoyegó, yáko Spása rod̃ilá yes̃í dush náshïẖ Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, for Thou hast borne the Savior of our souls - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Carlo Gesualdo O Vos Omnes This strangely intense and sorrow-laden work was the opening piece in Chantage’s first ever concert programme, 25 years ago, at St Martin, Ludgate. Carlo Gesualdo di Venosa (1561 – 1613) is a composer remembered today as much for the spectacular murder of his first wife and her lover as for his music. The renaissance was flourishing in the North of Italy and Gesualdo, a minor aristocrat in the South, himself added “di Venosa” to his name, most likely to try to improve his chances of success as a composer. His approach to O vos omnes, a responsorial intended to be sung during Holy Week, with a text from the Book of Lamentations, is one that maintains a free style and outlines his understanding and application of chromatic harmony. This piece contains rapid stylistic shifts and moments that mirror the contemplation and understanding of this sorrowful text. Translation: O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte Si est dolor sicut dolor meus O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see If there be any sorrow like to my sorrow - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Alonso Lobo Versa est in luctum Alonso Lobo is perhaps best known for his motet Versa est in luctum. This is undoubtedly a masterpiece of its kind, published in a collection of his pieces in 1602. The work was written to mark the death of King Philip II of Spain, though it is unclear as to whether it was first performed at the King’s funeral, or later at a memorial in Toledo. Chantage’s performance of this piece in the Malta International Choral Competition 2015 contributed to a mark of over 95% in the Sacred Music Category, and eventual victory in the competition’s Grand Prix. Translation: Versa est in luctum cíthara mea, et órganum meum in vocem fléntium. Parce mihi Dómine, nihil enim sunt dies mei. My harp is turned to grieving and my flute into the voice of those who weep. Spare me, O Lord, for my days are as nothing. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sergei Rachmaninoff Pridite, poklonimsya (from the All-Night-Vigil) In November 2023, with help from Irina Walters, lecturer on Russian and Eastern European choral music, Chantage gave a candlelit performance of the All-Night-Vigil (sometimes known as the ‘Vespers’) at St Dunstan in the West, the spiritual home of the Romanian Orthodox Church in London for over 50 years. The All-night vigil is a beautiful and moving setting of texts from the Russian Orthodox Church liturgy in 15 movements, of which this is the opening movement; a fourfold call to prayer, in six and then eight parts. It was composed in just two weeks in January and February 1915 shortly before the Russian Revolution, and in the depths of the First World War. However, at the outbreak of world war one most of his time was spent giving charity concerts, and working for the sick and wounded and not composing at all. It is widely regarded as his finest work, and is a profound plea for peace at a time of senseless destruction. Rachmaninoff was so fond of the work that he requested that part of it be sung at his funeral. Translation: Priidite, poklonimsya Tsarevi nashemu Bogu. Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Khristu Tsarevi nashemu Bogu. Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Samomu Khristu Tsarevi i Bogu nashemu. Priidite, poklonimsya i pripadem Emu. Come, let us worship God, our King. Come let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before the very Christ, our King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before him - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ralph Vaughan Williams The Turtle Dove Soloist: Jonathan Bell English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote his arrangement of this piece in 1919, after he discovered the melody in 1904 while collecting folksongs. It was whilst travelling through Rusper in Sussex that he stopped at the Plough Inn, set up his Edwardian recording equipment, and captured this tune amongst the songs of the pub’s landlord, whose crackled voice and haunting melodies can still be heard today. The text dates back to 1710, which tells the story of two lovers that vow to remain faithful as one travels far from home. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - John Ireland The Hills John Ireland, a contemporary of Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music, composed this piece in 1953 as his contribution to A Garland for the Queen, a collection of settings by 10 British composers of 10 contemporary poets commissioned to mark the coronation in June 1953 of Queen Elizabeth II. It sets words by the poet and travel writer James Kirkup (1918 – _2009) and finds beauty, and an almost religious serenity, in nature. Arthur Bliss, Arnold Bax, Michael Tippett, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Lennox Berkeley, John Ireland, Herbert Howells, Gerald Finzi, Alan Rawsthorne and Edmund Rubbra were the composers contributing to this collection of choral songs, which was commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain. These ten, with their respective poets, were asked to create settings for mixed voices in the image of the famous The Triumphs of Oriana (1601), which was presented to Queen Elizabeth I. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Benjamin Britten Concord (No.2, Choral Dances from ‘Gloriana) This choral dance is from Britten’s opera, Gloriana; the name often given affectionately to Queen Elizabeth I. It comes at the opening of act two in the opera, when the Queen has been welcomed to Norwich on a state visit, and is presented with several dances, given by the local people, as a tribute. The first performance of the opera was to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elisabeth II, but the music was badly received by the audience of diplomats and ambassadors who attended, resulting in heavy criticism. Successive performances have improved the opera’s image a great deal, but the choral dances stand alone as a vibrant collection in their own right. This favourite of Chantage features on The First, the choir’s debut CD, and the words are in accord with the spirit of singing in harmony together. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joanna Marsh An extra day Joanna was an undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently organ scholar at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge. She studied composition with Richard Blackford and Judith Bingham, and has developed a compositional style that is winning awards worldwide to the point of being described in The Guardian as “one of today’s leading composers for the voice”. This charming setting was commissioned by Princeton University Glee Club and written to mark the 29th February, setting the text ‘February 29th’ by Jane Hirshfield (a member of the first graduating class at Princeton University to include women). An extra day-- Like the painting’s fifth cow, who looks out directly, straight toward you, from inside her black and white spots. An extra day-- Accidental, surely: the made calendar stumbling over the real as a drunk trips over a threshold too low to see. An extra day-- With a second cup of black coffee. A friendly but businesslike phone call. A mailed-back package. Some extra work, but not too much-- just one day’s worth, exactly. An extra day-- Not unlike the space between a door and its frame when one room is lit and another is not, and one changes into the other as a woman exchanges a scarf. An extra day-- Extraordinarily like any other. And still there is some generosity to it, like a letter re-readable after its writer has died. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jaakko Mäntyjarvi Pseudo-Yoik Another competition winning piece from Chantage’s repertory, Pseudo-Yoik is a nonsense song, and has nothing to do with the traditional Lappish or Sámi yoik. Instead it is an impression of the stereotype that most Finns associate with Lapland and its people. The meaningless text exists solely to give form to the music, although the laws of probability dictate that there must exist an obscure South American Indian language in which it makes perfectly good sense. Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi describes himself as an eclectic traditionalist: eclectic in that he adopts influences from a number of styles and periods, fusing them into his own idiom; traditionalist in that his musical language is based on a traditional approach and uses the resources of modern music only sparingly. Because he is himself active in making music, his music is very practically oriented; he is a choral singer, and thus most of his works are for choir. Pseudo-Yoik was commissioned by the Tapiola Chamber Choir, a 'semi-professional' group with whom the composer sings, as an encore number, premiered in 1994 William Harris Bring Us, O Lord God
For nearly 20 years, Chantage has rehearsed weekly at the church of St Dunstan-in-the-West on Fleet Street where, announced by a plaque over the vestry door, John Donne was once a vicar. The sense of awe and of infinity he and other Metaphysical poets of the 17th century create, has inspired some of the greatest English choral music of the following centuries. It has been said that Donne gives us a glimpse of heaven through his sublime words, and that Harris reveals even more of its wonder in his setting for double choir: the synergistic combination of words and music shimmers in holy serenity. This piece was composed in 1959, not long before Harris’s retirement from a distinguished career as a teacher and director of music. A renowned choir trainer, the idiomatic part writing and textural mastery that Harris achieves in the work are testament to his tireless efforts at the musical helm of institutions such as New College and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Bring Us, O Lord God by William Harris, was sung at the Service of Committal of the Queen in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Anton Bruckner Locus Iste Anton Bruckner (1824 -1896) was born in Ansfelden, Austria, the son of a village schoolmaster and musician. Bruckner’s father died when Anton was 13, and the family’s circumstances were poor enough that he was sent as an orphan to the monastery at St. Florian. There he trained as a choirboy and organist, eventually becoming the most famous organist of his generation as well as a highly regarded professor of music composition. Bruckner is often remembered as a great symphonist, “a master-builder of cathedrals in sound” who was highly influenced by Wagner’s grand operas and in turn served as an inspiration for Gustav Mahler. However, his sacred vocal output is extremely significant and tremendously popular today. He wrote three Masses, which continued the Viennese tradition of Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert, and around thirty motets, of which this is possibly the most well known. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Richard Allain Lullaby (World Premiere) Soloist: Anne-Marie Cullum Richard Allain is a dear friend of the choir’s and one of Chantage’s greatest competition triumphs was performing his Christ’s Love Song at the Grand Final of BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year in 2006. The performance evoked composer and poet Eugene Skeef to say “You stole my heart away and you encouraged me to search for it by letting me float on the diaphanous cloud of your sound”. We are thrilled that Richard agreed to write this commission for us, to mark our 25th Anniversary, and hope you will enjoy his exquisite setting of the text by W.H. Auden, which encapsulates so very much of the human existence. The work is dedicated to the memory of our very dear friend, Ben Thapa. Lay your sleeping head, my love, Human on my faithless arm; Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral: But in my arms till break of day Let the living creature lie, Mortal, guilty, but to me The entirely beautiful. Soul and body have no bounds: To lovers as they lie upon Her tolerant enchanted slope In their ordinary swoon, Grave the vision Venus sends Of supernatural sympathy, Universal love and hope; While an abstract insight wakes Among the glaciers and the rocks The hermit's carnal ecstasy. Certainty, fidelity On the stroke of midnight pass Like vibrations of a bell, And fashionable madmen raise Their pedantic boring cry: Every farthing of the cost, All the dreaded cards foretell, Shall be paid, but from this night Not a whisper, not a thought, Not a kiss nor look be lost. Beauty, midnight, vision dies: Let the winds of dawn that blow Softly round your dreaming head Such a day of welcome show Eye and knocking heart may bless, Find the mortal world enough; Noons of dryness find you fed By the involuntary powers, Nights of insult let you pass Watched by every human love. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Eric Whitacre With a lily in your hand Eric Whitacre (b.1970) has become a world-renowned composer of choral music, taking on texts and projects of dramatic scope and receiving international acclaim in the process. He burst onto the scene with pieces like his innovative, a cappella work Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, as well as Water Night. His choral music is regularly performed around the world, particularly in the USA where With a Lily in Your Hand was commissioned for the California All-State Chorus in 2002. Chantage first encountered Eric Whitacre’s music with his setting of A Boy and a Girl, which the choir performed in the Choir of the Year Competition Adult Final, broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The choir subsequently worked with Eric at the Association of British Choral Directors annual convention in 2007, in Lincoln Cathedral, where he told us we had been responsible for bringing his music to the UK. This piece won great praise for us at the Tolosa International Choral Competition in 2008, and Eric told us that it was a vision of a scene from a Western, an image that really brings the music to life. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bob Chilcott Swimming Over London Soloist: Jeremy James This is the first piece that poet Charles Bennett worked on with composer Bob Chilcott. It sets a poem from 'How to Make a Woman Out of Water', which was adapted and revised for the King’s Singers. The song is described as a vivid musical depiction of the colourful dreamscape created in Charles Bennett’s text. The solo tenor floats over the soft, jazzy harmonies of the other voices as he narrates the journey through London’s sky, noting the ‘blackbirds in the sleeping streets’ and a taxicab slumbering below. The song was selected for our repertoire in 2020 in preparation for the London International Choral Conducting Competition but, sadly, the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. We’re delighted to be hosting the event at last and, to close our season of performances marking our 25th Anniversary, we’ll be performing it on 2nd November from the Duke’s Hall stage at the Royal Academy of Music, for LICCC 2024. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thomas Dorsey arr. Louise Marshall Precious Lord Soloist: Josh Robinson Chantage recorded this fabulous arrangement as the closing number on their debut CD, The First (you should listen out for the secret track that follows it), and it has been a favourite at weddings over the past 25 years. In one day the choir performed it for 20 weddings at the Southbank Centre’s Big Wedding Weekend, and then again the same day on a double decker bus, following the wedding one of our own members, Tomas. Louise Clare Marshall, a recording artist in her own right, has toured with Beverley Knight as a backing vocalist, supporting ‘Take That’ concerts across the UK, and regularly appears with Jools Holland. Louise’s choral arrangements are not yet published, and mostly written for friends and colleagues, such as this arrangement that was written for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. The solo part, originally sung by Louise herself, is not written into the score, and will tonight be improvised by Josh. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Anders Edenroth Chilli Con Carne Written for Sweden’s long standing a cappella ensemble The Real Group, Chilli Con Carne formed a part of Chantage’s concert repertoire during a trip to the Basque Region for the Tolosa International Choral Competition in 2008. It features a whole host of complex rhythms supporting a fully working recipe for everyone’s favourite Mexican dish! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Simon & Garfunkel arr. Marshall Bridge over Troubled Water Paul Simon wrote our final song with Art Garfunkel’s high tenor voice in mind. The songs title ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ is ironic because by the time this song was released, the duo had spilt up because of disagreements with their album. This arrangement is another fabulous choral adaptation by Louise Marshall, sister to the organist Wayne Marshall. It has such an uplifting theme and has been at the heart of many concert programmes Chantage has performed over the years. For many of the choir it is nostalgic, but for all of us it is steeped in camaraderie and joy. The perfect close to our celebrations this evening! A joint concert featuring Chantage and Chœur43
Saturday 8 June 2024 Eglise Anglicane de Paris, 7 Rue Auguste Vacquerie, 75016 Paris, France We visited Paris for a special Franco-British choral concert on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale. St Dunstan in the West, London Thu 18th April 2024 The concert featured music inspired by birds, flight, folksong and the landscapes of the British Isles, with new works for choir and solo violin. A highlight was a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending, arranged for choir and solo violin. We were joined for the concert by the superb violinist, Lizzie French.  Artwork and design by In This Room studio
For the first time, we performed two Christmas concerts in a single day - a relaxed performance for families in the afternoon followed by an evening concert!
On Thursday 2 November 2023, Chantage performed Rachmaninoff's All-night vigil Op.37 (sometimes known as the ‘Vespers’) by candlelight, marking 150 years since the composer's birth. The All-night vigil is a beautiful and moving setting of texts from the Russian Orthodox Church liturgy. It was composed in just two weeks in January and February 1915 shortly before the Russian Revolution and is considered by many to be the culmination of an era of Russian sacred music. Rachmaninoff was so fond of the work that he requested that the ‘Nunc Dimititis’ be sung at his funeral. An introductory talk was delivered by Irina Walters, lecturer on Russian and Eastern European choral music. The performance took place at St Dunstan in the West, the spiritual home of the Romanian Orthodox Church in London for over 50 years.   
Saturday 22 June at St Luke's Church, Chelsea.
Programme included:
Programme notes I was Glad – Parry Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918) composed this setting of verses from Psalm 122 for the Coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, revising it for George V’s Coronation in 1911 by adding a more impressive introduction. Settings of the text by Purcell, John Blow and other musicians had been sung at previous Coronations, but it is Parry’s revised anthem that has been used subsequently, as well as being performed on State occasions and at royal weddings. At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, the anthem was sung as the Queen entered at the west door of Westminster Abbey and processed into the Church. Again on Saturday 6th May 2023, the monumental piece opened the ceremony for the coronation of King Charles III. Despite his father’s opinion that music was not a suitable career for a gentleman, Hubert’s musical talent was nurtured at his prep school and while still at Eton he became the youngest student to gain a BMus from Oxford. He read law and modern history at Oxford, but kept up his musical studies while working in insurance until his compositions came to public notice. Having been employed by George Grove of the great new Dictionary of Music and Musicians, he was eventually appointed to the staff of the new Royal College of Music. When Grove retired as director of the RCM, Parry succeeded him and held the post until his death. The full choir begins the anthem, then divides into two at the words ‘Jerusalem is builded’. The central section, a contemplative prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, is sung by the semi-chorus before the whole choir re-combines and the music builds to its final climax. I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces. - Book of Common Prayer, 1662, Psalm 122, vv 1-3, 6, 7 * * * * * * * * * I sat down under his shadow - Bairstow Sir Edward Bairstow, organist of York Minster from 1913 until his death, typifies the English organist-composer of the earlier part of the twentieth century: conservative, craftsmanlike, often imaginative, gifted with a real feeling for choral sonority and word setting. I sat down under his shadow, which appeared in 1925, was one of the earliest publications of the then newly-established music department of the Oxford University Press. Its mystic, slightly oriental flavour suggests connections with Bairstow’s exact contemporary, Holst. * * * * * * * * * Messe Solennelle - Langlais Jean Langlais was blind, having completely lost all sight by the age of 3 and with “no memory of light”. He had the good fortune to attend the Institution National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Youth) in Paris, a remarkable boarding school which fostered the musical talents of numerous eminent blind French musicians from the early 19th century, allowing them to begin musical careers which many would undoubtedly never have had without it. At the age of 16 he began organ lessons with André Marchal, another blind organist who had attended the Institution as a child. In adulthood, Langlais, like Marchal, returned to teach at the Institution, doing so for forty years. In 1927, Langlais entered the Paris Conservatoire as an organ student under Marcel Dupré, where his contemporaries included Duruflé and Messaien. Composing more and more, he commenced lessons with Paul Dukas, who taught him orchestration. Langlais became a noted recitalist, especially in America which he toured extensively, giving almost 300 recitals and master classes. He almost seemed to refuse to acknowledge his blindness, refusing to have a guide dog and sustaining a number of serious traffic accidents as a result. In 1984 he suffered a stroke which left him with partial brain damage, but he recovered to the extent that he was able to begin to give organ recitals again, giving one to great acclaim at Notre Dame in 1986 at the age of 79. He died in Paris in 1991, aged 84. Langlais’s method of composition was remarkable. He would compose a piece in his head in great detail over a long period, then write it in shorthand in Braille, then dictate the name of every note and its rhythmic value to an amanuensis to produce the full score. Although this transcription process was laborious, it was accomplished comparatively quickly because the mental process had been so rigorous; Langlais said of his Messe Solennelle that he had thought about it for twelve years and composed it in thirteen days. Despite this cumbersome compositional process, Langlais was a prolific composer, writing almost three hundred pieces for organ and a large number of choral works. Composed in 1951, the Messe solennelle is perhaps Jean Langlais’ best-known choral work. It is very much in the tradition of French masses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries which were composed specifically for liturgical use. As a result, despite its title, it is a comparatively short work, unlike, for example, the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven. The Credo is not set, though the title Solemn Mass would usually indicate that the Ordinary of the Mass was set in full; technically, a mass such as this should be called a Missa Brevis. The piece is scored for four-part choir and two organs, written with the traditional French cathedral configuration in mind: passages of music on the Grand Orgue, which would usually be situated high up on the west wall of the cathedral, alternate with choral sections accompanied by the smaller Orgue de Choeur situated near the choir towards the east end. In the absence of two suitable organs, however, the work can be played on one. Langlais’ language is characterised by melodies which—although original creations—show a distinct affinity with plainsong. These, combined with vivid modal writing, striking use of quasi-mediaeval parallel fourths and fifths, a colourful control of dissonance, and a mastery of the organ’s tonal palette, give the work an arrestingly unique and instantly recognisable quality. Translation: Kyrie Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Gloria Glory be to God in the highest. And in earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee; we bless Thee; we worship Thee; we glorify Thee. We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory. O Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon us. For thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord, thou only art the most high, Jesus Christ. Together with the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Sanctus Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Benedictus Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Agnus Dei Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God. Grant us peace. * * * * * * * * * Taaveti Laul Nr. 104 – Kreek Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek studied at St. Petersburg Conservatory before the Russian Revolution. A music teacher in Haapsulu in western Estonia for a time, he collected the folk music of his country and was the first Estonian to use the phonograph for that purpose. His transcriptions included collections of folk hymn tunes and folk music from Estonia's Swedish villages. Over the course of his career, along with his students he collected over 1300 songs. His output contains nearly 700 folk tunes, 500 chorales, and a dozen instrumental suites based on Estonian dance and song tunes. Kreek's folksong collections are held in the Estonian Folklore Archives, Literary Museum, Tartu. Kreek briefly held stints as professor at the Tallinn conservatory in 1940-41 and 1944-50, but was forced to leave that position during Soviet occupation as he was labeled a 'bourgeois nationalist’ by the government. He is known for being particularly influential in the creation of a nationalistic Estonian musical style. The text of this work, which is a part of a collection of psalm settings, comes from Psalm 104. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! O Lord my God, Thou art very great. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all. Glory be to Thee, O Lord, Who has made all things. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now and evermore. Amen. * * * * * * * * * Alleluia - Runestad One of the youngest full-time composers in the world, Jake Runestad earned a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. The recipient of a 2017 McKnight Fellowship, Runestad has earned numerous awards for his music, including the prestigious Raymond W. Brock Commission from the American Choral Directors Association. He also won the 2016 Morton Gould Young Composer Award from The ASCAP Foundation. In addition to composing socially conscious music that aims to initiate positive change, Runestad is frequently engaged as a composer-in-residence and guest conductor with ensembles and institutions across the globe. Commenting on the character of his Alleluia setting (composed in 2013, premiered in 2014) Runestad writes, “Through history, the singing of ‘alleluia’ has served as an outward celebration as well as an introspective expression of praise.” * * * * * * * * * Cantate Domino - Jansson Mårten Jansson (b.1965), is an elected member of the Föreningen svenska tonsättare (the Society of Swedish Composers). He graduated from the Kungliga Musikhögskolan (Royal College of Music), Stockholm with a MFA degree in Music Education, Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Voice. For more than ten years he was the music director and conductor of “Carmen”, one of the most prominent women's vocal ensembles in Sweden. Working with this choir gave Jansson the impetus to write many of his early compositions for female choir. “The knowledge that what I wrote at night would be tested the next evening was a driving force that not many other composers were lucky to have”. He currently teaches choral conducting and music theory as well as giving vocal tuition at the Uppsala Estetiska Gymnasium and Uppsala Kulturskola in his home town of Uppsala. Mårten Jansson writes: "My music is my own and I have never tried to be original. That has always been my motto and I have only tried to use music to express all the feelings life consists of. This has led people to describe my music as both ”so sad that it sounds like birds who have lost their wings” and ”the happiest classical music we ever heard”. I have also always preferred beautiful music to atonal music and that is surely the reason why the most part of my music is more on the sad side – but what a dream it would be to be able to create beautiful music that’s bubbling over with joy! My compositions consist of almost only sacral music. This is to express my own faith but also my appreciation and respect for the timeless texts that have been used for centuries after centuries." Cantate Domino (Psalm 96:1–3) was originally written for male choir. By adding women’s voices, the version for mixed choir presents a further dimension of colour. This version also makes it possible to divide the choir into two groups, one for women and another for men, and to have them sing either together or as separate units. The version for mixed choir was premiered in Uppsala Cathedral (Sweden) on 26 October 2013, with the Uppsala Cathedral Singers conducted by Ulric Andersson. Sing to the Lord a new song, Sing and give praise to his name: for he has done marvellous deeds. Sing and exult and praise. in songs with the harp and the voice: for he has done marvellous deeds. NB: Don't miss your chance to pick up a copy of Chantage's CD of Choral Music by Mårten Jansson, on sale after the concert. * * * * * * * * * Wade in the water - Trad. arr. Luboff Chicago born, Norman Luboff, forged his musical reputation as a conductor/arranger in Hollywood, working with favourite celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. His own group, the Norman Luboff Choir, became one of the leading choral groups in the world, recording more than 75 LP’s and touring for nearly 25 years until he died in 1987. The roots of this traditional spiritual are as a coded signal song, in which a certain event, such as a planned escape from a plantation, was imminent. Specifically, the hidden meaning of this spiritual is a reminder “to wade in the water to throw the bloodhounds off your scent” as you travel along the Underground Railroad. * * * * * * * * * The tide rises the tide falls - Mäntyjärvi Jaakko Mäntyjärvi is a professional freelance translator and composer, and also an amateur and semi-professional choral singer and conductor. He is one of Finland’s internationally best known composers of choral music, with a catalog of some 150 works published to date. He has given talks on his works at various choral events in Europe, the USA and Australia, and has occasionally given a course on the history of choral music at the Sibelius Academy. As a composer, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi describes himself as an eclectic traditionalist: adopting influences from a number of styles and periods, and basing his musical idiom largely on traditionally oriented materials. Because he is himself active in making music, his music is very practically oriented; most of his works are for choir. Longfellow’s poem about the unchanging swell of the sea and the transitoriness of human life is a small but profound one, and this setting is principally built on a small gesture: a slowly breathing motion that reflects the wash of waves on the shore. A number of brighter moments emerge from the fog, as it were, but on the whole the music both emerges from and retreats into silence. * * * * * * * * * Her Army - Cumming-Wesley Written by the poet Siobhan Tebbs, Her Army is an abstract reflection upon the role of nature – particularly the ocean – as a reassuring constant in all our lives, regardless of the challenges we are facing. There are subtle references to mental health, anxiety and (temporary) joy, and a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that, inevitably, regardless of our choices, feelings or opinions, the ocean will endure. The text is set to music by Jamie Cumming-Wesley (the poet’s brother). The music is as much shaped by the sounds of the words as by their meaning. Her Army has a loose form in relation to both harmony and melody. Jamie is inspired by the works of Eric Whitacre, Arvo Pärt and Gabriel Jackson. * * * * * * * * * Tears in Heaven - Clapton arr. Burton Eric Clapton's meandering and groundbreaking musical career has been punctuated by extreme personal hardship and tragedy. He was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister, to shield him the stigma that illegitimacy carried with it. The truth was eventually revealed to him, at the age of nine by his grandmother. Later, when Eric would visit his mother, they would still pretend to be brother and sister. He commenced studies at the Kingston College of Art, but his intended career path in stained-glass design ended permanently when the blues-obsessed Clapton was expelled at seventeen for playing guitar in class. In late 1990, the fates delivered Clapton a terrible blow when guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and Clapton road crew members Colin Smythe and Nigel Browne--all close friends of Clapton's--were killed in a helicopter crash. A few months later, he was dealt another cruel blow when Conor, his son by Italian model Lori Del Santo, fell forty-nine stories to his death on March 20, 1991 from an open window in Del Santo's Manhattan high-rise apartment. "Tears in Heaven," is a heart-rending elegy to his young son, Conor. Clapton then recorded it in a concert for MTV Unplugged that, when released on an album in August, became his biggest-selling record ever. (Clapton received a total of six Grammys that year for the single and for the album Unplugged.) * * * * * * * * * Swimming Over London - Chilcott This is the first piece that poet Charles Bennett worked on with composer Bob Chilcott. It sets a poem from 'How to Make a Woman Out of Water', which was adapted and revised for the King’s Singers. Chilcott’s ravishing setting sparked a very productive collaboration, and this song (described as his favourite in a podcast by Stephen Connolly) was chosen as the title for the King’s Singers’ CD titled, Swimming Over London. The song is described as a vivid musical depiction of the colourful dreamscape created in Charles Bennett’s text. The solo tenor floats over the soft, jazzy harmonies of the other voices as he narrates the journey through London’s sky, noting the ‘blackbirds in the sleeping streets’ and a taxicab slumbering below. * * * * * * * * * All Creatures now - Bennet The madrigal, imported from Italy in 1588, rapidly became the most important secular form in late Tudor England. John Bennet’s All creatures now, was written in 1601 for The Triumphs of Oriana, a volume of madrigals by different composers written in honour of Elizabeth I. Each ends with the refrain “Long live fair Oriana”, though ironically the volume was not published until after her death in 1603. All creatures now are merry minded, The shepherd's daughters playing, the nymphs are falalaing. Yon bugle was well winded. At Oriana's presence each thing smileth. The flow'rs themselves discover, Birds over her do hover, Music the time beguileth, See where she comes, with flow'ry garlands crowned, Queen of all queens reknowned. Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana, "Long live fair Oriana!" * * * * * * * * * All in the April Evening - Roberton Sir Hugh Roberton’s background was linked to the Independent Labour Party, for whom he sometimes lectured on such subjects as ‘Music and Democracy’. He was a self-taught conductor, composer, poet, and dramatist, most celebrated throughout the first half of the twentieth century for his conducting of the Glasgow Orpheus Choir which drew principally on working-class singers from Glasgow’s Rottenrow and East End. Though Roberton’s choir’s origins dated back to 1901, by the mid-1920s it was still regarded as innovative and its fame was widespread. Its repertoire included many Scottish songs (not least by Robert Burns) as well as religious music; but its and Roberton’s most celebrated piece was probably his arrangement of a poem by Katharine Tynan about ‘the Lamb of God’, ‘All in the April Evening’, which Roberton had set to music in 1911. * * * * * * * * * The Song of the Blacksmith - Holst Gustav Holst has earned a place among the most revered of late 19th and early 20th century composers and is best known for his enduring Orchestral suite The Planets. In his use of authentic English folksongs, gnostic texts and Vedic hymns, one can discern Holst’s search for a compositional voice beyond the constraints of the European styles of the early 1900’s. In 1916 he published Six Choral Folk Songs, of which Hampshire folk tune The Song of the Blacksmith is the fourth. Holst uses the power of the mixed voice choir to set the song among onomatopoeic syllables to evoke the smithy, hammering at an anvil. The song is one verse long which Holst repeats not quite completely three times, like the endlessly spinning thoughts of a rejected lover, and with many disrupting changes to the meter. Kang, kang, kang ki ki kang kang. For the blacksmith courted me, nine months and better; And first he won my heart, till he wrote to me a letter. With his hammer in his hand, as he strikes so mighty and clever, He makes the sparks to fly all around his middle. * * * * * * * * * We have all the time in the world - Barry arr. Allain John Barry's "We Have All the Time in the World," sung by Louis Armstrong, from the soundtrack of the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), was found in 2005 to be the third most popular choice for UK just-married couples' first dance (after Bryan Adams and The Carpenters). 'We Have All the Time in the World' was the secondary musical theme for the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. In the film, George Lazenby's Bond is distraught after his wife Tracy (Diana Rigg) is shot and killed. Bond says: "It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'II be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see? We have all the time in the world." The song then plays over the film's ending credits. In his late 60s, Louis Armstrong was too ill to play his trumpet at the time, and it was played by another musician for the film, but John Barry chose Armstrong to sing on the song, because he felt he could "deliver the title line with irony". * * * * * * * * * Summertime - Gershwin arr. Williams Composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for his opera Porgy and Bess, Summertime soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote. Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of blacks in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century". Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward (the author of the novel Porgy) and Ira Gershwin. The song was recorded for the first time by Abbie Mitchell, with George Gershwin playing the piano and conducting the orchestra. * * * * * * * * * Fix You - Coldplay arr. Wikeley British rock band Coldplay released the song "Fix You" in 2005. The song was written by Chris Martin, the band's lead singer and pianist, in response to the death of his mother. Martin said the song was an attempt to comfort his wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, after her mother's death. Fix You is the second single from Coldplay 's album X&Y . It received extremely positive reviews, award nominations and has been widely sampled. Chris Martin notes that it is, 'probably the most important song we have ever written.' Friday 24 March 2023 at St Simon Zelotes Church
Programme Immortal Bach J.S.Bach arr. Knut Nystedt O Nata Lux Thomas Tallis Crucifixus á 8 Antonio Lotti My Prayer (Psalm 102: 1) Bob Chilcott (after Henry Purcell) Haec Dies (Psalm 118: 24) William Byrd Drop, drop, slow tears from Crucifixus Pro Nobis Kenneth Leighton (words by Phineas Fletcher) Easter Chorale (Op.40) Samuel Barber (words by Pack Browning) Agnus Dei (transcribed from Adagio for Strings Op.11) Samuel Barber ---INTERVAL--- Thule, the Period of Cosmography The Andalusian Merchant Thomas Weelkes Her Army - WORLD PREMIERE Jamie Cumming-Wesley (words by Siobhan Tebbs) The tide rises, the tide falls Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) Sea Songs For Choir - WORLD PREMIERE 1: The Sound 2: The Sea 3: The Sky Mike Dixon (words by Susan Penhaligon) Swimming over London Bob Chilcott (words by Charles Bennett) Programme notes HER ARMY Written by the poet Siobhan Tebbs, Her Army is an abstract reflection upon the role of nature – particularly the ocean – as a reassuring constant in all our lives, regardless of the challenges we are facing. There are subtle references to mental health, anxiety and (temporary) joy, and a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that, inevitably, regardless of our choices, feelings or opinions, the ocean will endure. The text is set to music by Jamie Cumming-Wesley (the poet’s brother). The music is as much shaped by the sounds of the words as by their meaning. Her Army has a loose form in relation to both harmony and melody. Jamie is inspired by the works of Eric Whitacre, Arvo Pärt and Gabriel Jackson. SEA SONGS FOR CHOIR Music by Mike Dixon - Poems by Susan Penhaligon Susan says: The Sound is about my father, who was in the Navy during WW2. Once, I sailed into Plymouth on a training yacht and passed all these decommissioned boats and I thought of him. The Sea was written for a fisherman I knew in St Ives. The Sky is about St Ives, my home town and the influx of visitors taking over every summer and how much I didn’t want it to change. Of course, it has. Mike says: I read Susan’s poems and they immediately invoked a musical response from me - they needed to be sung! I am originally from Plymouth so the words of the first one particularly take me back to the days of my youth, seeing the great ships along the river Tamar. They are in simple four part choral harmony and with tunes that are reminiscent of sea shanties from the past. We were delighted to join forces with the Harlequin Chamber Choir for a joint concert at the beautiful St Stephen Wallbrook in the City, as part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival on 11 June 2022. The programme Saint-Saens - Calme des nuits (Combined choirs) Saints Seans - Les fleurs et les arbres (Combined choirs) Certon - La La La, je ne l’ose dire (Harlequin) Debussy - Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder (Harlequin) Poulenc - Salve regina (Chantage) Andrews - O lux beata trinitas (Chantage) ____ McGlynn - Geantrai (Chantage) MacMillan - Gallant Weaver (Chantage) Taylor - Lonesome road (Chantage) Simon & Garfunkel - Sound of Silence (Harlequin) Runestad - Let my love be heard (Harlequin) Howells - Take him earth (Chantage) Harris - Bring us O Lord God (Combined choirs) With rehearsals and performances on hold for over two years due to the pandemic, it was a joy to finally perform together in front of an audience at St Mary's Iffley, near Oxford on 2 April 2022. All proceeds from the concert were donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal. Our programme Monteverdi – Cantate Domino Gesualdo - Ave Dulcissima Maria Byrd - Vigilate Lobo – Versa Est In Luctum Andrews - O lux beata trinitas Poulenc - Salve regina Saint-Saens - Calme des nuits Saint-Saens - Les fleurs et les arbes Britten - Chorale Old French INTERVAL Mantyjarvi - Shakespeare Songs Whitacre - Sleep MacMillan - Gallant Weaver Adele - Rolling in the deep Porter - The way you look tonight We marked our 20th birthday with a celebratory concert at St James Piccadilly. We partied like it was 1999 (in a choral sense that is). Joined by choir alumni, we performed a selection of our favourite pieces from the past 20 years, ranging from works by Frank Martin, William Byrd and Michael Tippett, to popular numbers by Britney Spears, James Taylor, Billy Joel and Gospel greats.
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