GUILDFORD FESTIVAL 1994
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
Presents
YOUTHFUL
CONNECTION
Mozart:
Sparrows’ Mass
Mozart:
Exsultate Jubilate
Tippett:
Negro Spirituals
Rutter:
Childhood Lyrics
Conductor:
Neville Creed
Organ:
Jeremy Filsell
At 7.30 p.m. on Saturday 2nd July 1994
Holy Trinity Church - Guildford
PROGRAMME
“YOUTHFUL CONNECTION”
Missa Brevis in C K220
Mozart
“Spatzen - Messe” (“Sparrows’ Mass”)
Kyrie : Gloria : Credo : Sanctus : Benedictus : Agnus Dei
Exsultate, Jubilate K165
Mozart
Exsultate, Jubilate
Fulget amica dies
Alleluja
Rosalind Waters - Soprano
- INTERVAL - (15 minutes)
Five Negro Spirituals from ‘A Child of our Times’
Tippett
Steal away : Nobody knows : Go down, Moses
By and by : Deep River
Songs of Travel
Vaughan Williams
The Vagabond
Youth and Love
Simon Kirkbride - Bass
Five Childhood Lyrics
Rutter
Monday’s child : The owl and the pussy-cat : Windy nights :
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John : Sing a song of sixpence
Rosalind Waters - Soprano
Simon Spencer Williams - Tenor
Leigh Woolf - Alto
Simon Kirkbride - Bass
Jeremy Filsell - Organ
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
Neville Creed - Conductor
o
Missa Brevis in
C K220 “Spatzen Messe” (Sparrows’ Mass)
Mozart composed his ‘Missa Brevis’ in C in 1775 at the age of nineteen. He was
encouraged to write for the church because his father, Leopold, was Kapellmeister at the
cathedral in Salzburg and new rules governing the structure of services meant that new
settings of the mass were in demand.
Itis written in the festive key of C and the opening ‘Kyrie’ creates a jubilant atomosphere.
In the ‘Gloria’ the soloists interrupt the choir with individual phrases. Perhaps the most
telling of these is the soprano’s entrance towards the end of the movement with the words
‘Quoniam tu solus sanctus’. The ‘Credo’ begins and ends with an urgent ‘Allegro’
characterized by repeated semiquavers while the central section is a slow-moving
‘Andante’ which becomes intensely chromatic at the words ‘Crucifixus’. The nickname
‘Spatzen-Messe’ or ‘Sparrows’ Mass’ has emerged because of the chirping grace notes
in the ‘Sanctus’.
They appear again in the ‘Hosanna’ at the end of the ‘Benedictus’ often a lyrical soprano
solo. The ‘Agnus Dei’ ends by recalling the joyful music of the opening ‘Kyrie’.
Exsultate, Jubilate K165
This sacred motet was written in 1773 when Mozart was only seventeen. He was in Milan
at the time supervising the production of his new opera ‘Lucio Silla’. In the opera, each
aria was composed for a specific singer and the idea was extended to ‘Exsultate’ which
was written for a castrato named Ranzzini.
The form of the work follows the usual patten of two arias connected by a recitative
concluding with the famous ‘Alleluja’.
Five Negro Spirituals from ‘A Child of our Time’
InBach’s ‘Passions’ the Chorals provide moments of collective reflection on the drama,
and these Negro Spirituals are used in a similar way in Tippett’s oratorio ‘A Child of our
Time’.
The warm choral phrases of ‘Steal away’ are interrupted by a vivid outburst from the
tenor soloist which heralds ‘the trumpet sounds’. ‘Nobody knows’ is characterized by
snappy rhythms and syncopations while ‘Go down, Moses’ is more dignified, ‘ By and
by’ contains lilting syncopations and is a lighter movement in a major key. The group
ends with ‘Deep River’ which plumbs greater emotional depths ending with quiet pleas
to the Lord.
Songs of Travel
Vaughan Williams found early success with his songs and the group entitled ‘Songs of
Travel’ is one his most popular collections. ‘The Vagabond’ conjures a suitably rakish
atmosphere while ‘Youth and Love’ is more mellifluous.
Five Childhood Lyrics
Even when setting nursery rhymes, John Rutter’s style is carefully crafted and highly
imaginative.The collection begins with a peaceful arrangement of ‘Monday’s child is fair
of face’. Edward Lear’s famous poem ‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat’ is set to a lilting
rhythm which develops into a boisterous dance. The words of R. L. Stevenson’s ‘Windy
Nights’ are accompanied by some distinctly bumpy galloping before the mood relaxes
again for ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke and John’. The group ends with an exuberant arrangement
of ‘Sing a song of sixpence’.
Neville Creed - Conductor
Neville Creed began his conducting career whilst a Choral Scholar at Trinity College,
Cambridge. He then became Director of Choral Music at Tiffin School in Kingstonupon-Thames, providing choirs for several highly-acclaimed recordings on radio,
television and disc. The Tiffin Boys’ choir recording of Mahler’s 8th Symphony with
The London Philharmonic under Klaus Tennstedt gained a nomination for a ‘Grammy’
award. During the time he was Conductor of the Milton Keynes Chorale and Assistant
Chorus Master of the London Philharmonic Choir.
In 1986 he was awarded a scholarship to study conducting at the Guildhall School of
Music where he won the Ricordi Conducting Prize. Whilst at the Guildhall he conducted
the second British staging of the opera “Julietta” by Martinu. Since completing his
studies he has founded his own Chamber Choir, been appointed Chorus Master of the
Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and the Guildford Philharmonic Choir, and received
invitations to return to the Guildhall to conduct. He has also deputized as a Chorus Master
for several of the leading London choirs. In 1988 he won the second prize in the first
International Choral Conducting Comptition held in Italy and in 1991 won a Semi-Final
prize in the Leeds competition for Orchestral Conducting.
Work abroad has included conducting the European Community Chamber Orchestra in
France, regular visits to Denmark and conducting Britten’s “War Requiem” in Germany.
He has given concerts with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Bournemuth Symphony
Orchestra, Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra
and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This autumn sees the release of Neville’s
Sanctus by David Fanshawe with the Bournemouth Symphony
recording of African
Chorus and soprano Wilhelmenia Fernandez.
Rosalind Waters
Rosalind Waters was born in Somerset. From 1987 to 1992 she studied at the Welsh
College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, gaining diplomas both in singing and in
violin.
She is currently in her final year as a post graduate student at the Royal College of
Music
where she holds the Peter Pears Exhibition for 1993-94 and studies with Margaret
Cable.
During the past three years Rosalind has performed in a wide range of concerts
arenaissance extravaganza directed by Philip Pickett at the RCM, lute son gsin
including
Tel Aviv,
London and Canterbury with lutenists Isidoro Roitman and Robert Spencer, Monteverdi
’s
L’Orfeo at Dartington International Summer School, Handel’s Messiah
directed by
Catherine Mackintosh and a number of BBC radio and television broadcasts.
During the past year she has made her Purcell Room debut in Purcell’s Hail
Bright,
Cecilia, directed by John Toll, sung in works by Monteverdi directed by Jeremy
West,
toured Spain with the Corydon Singers conducted by Matthew Best and given
the UK
premiere of Self-Referential Songs and Realistic Virelais by Benedict Mason
with the
RCM 20th Century Ensemble directed by Edwin Roxburgh. She has also taken
partinthe
World Premiére and recording of Prokofiev’'s Eugene Onegin with the Docklands
Sinfonietta conducted by Sir Edward Downes, a concert in St John’s Smith Square
with
the London Musici and as a soloist in Handel’s Saul with the Gabrieli Consort
directed
by Paul McCreesh as part of the Covent Garden Festival.
Leigh Woolf
Leigh Woolf was born in 1971 and comes from Great Ayton in North
Yorkshire.
Before moving to London to further her career in singing, she was best known
for her
involvement in local Operatic Societies; playing amongst other roles ‘Milly’ in
Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers. She also enjoyed success in local festivals and competition
s
in the Cleveland and North Yorkshire areas, more especially in the Cleveland Internationa
l
Eisteddfod.
Leigh is currently in her Fourth year at the Royal College of Music, studying with
Margaret Cable. Since entering the College she has won the Ted Moss Lieder Prize, the
Italian language prize, the Guilia Grisi Prize, the Alboni Prize and the Major Von
Sommeren Godfrey Prize. She has also developed an extensive song repertoire giving
recitals in German Lieder, French Melodie and English Song.
Leigh’s wide ranging oratorio experience has taken her to venues throughout the U.K.
including Peterborough Cathedral and a premiére performance in Glasgow.
More recently Leigh gave a very successful recital in Burghley House accompanied by
Nigel Clayton and future plans include another recital in Grimsthorpe Castle.
Simon Spencer Williams
Simon Spencer Williams (Tenor) studies with Edward Brooks at the Royal College of
Music where he was recently awarded the Bertha Taylor-Stach Prize for interpretation
of German Song. He performs regularly as a soloist with choirs and choral societies
throughout England and Scotland. In 1993 he made his professional operatic debut as
Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro at Garsington Opera. Future plans include arecital
tour of the West Midlands.
Simon Kirkbride
Simon Kirkbride, born in Northamptonshire in 1969, gained his formative musical
training whilst a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. In 1990 he won a scholarship to the
Royal College of Music where he is currently in his final year, studying with Margaret
Kingsley and Robert Sutherland. He has won numerous prizes at College, most notably
the Chilver Wilson, Muriel Kistener and Dulcie Nutting prizes. Away from College
Simon has performed most of the major works, including the Requiems of Mozart, Fauré,
Duruflé and Saint-Saens. In 1993, Simon recorded the bass solos in Saint-Saens’
Requiem with the London Philiharmonic under Geoffrey Simon on the Carla label.
This summer Simon is touring with Kent Opera in Britten’s ‘Prodigal Son’. In the autumn
Simon is returning to the RCM to study on the opera course and is grateful to the Countess
of Munster Trust and the Wolfson Foundation for financial support.
Jeremy Filsell - organ
Jeremy Filsell was educated as organ scholar at Keble College, Oxford and the Royal
College of Music, where he studied piano under David Parkhouse and Hilary McNamara.
At the age of 19 he was awarded the FRCO with the Limpus prize for the highest marks.
Jeremy now works in the freelance world following a period as Assistant Organist at Ely
Cathedral.
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
The Guildford Philharmonic Choir was formed by Guildford Borough in order to
perform the major choral repertoire with the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra. As well
as performing well-known choral works, the choir specializes in twentieth century
British music and this has led to recordings of Gerald Finzi’s ‘Intimations of Immortality’
with the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra and Patrick Hadley’s ‘The Trees So High’
with the Philharmonia Orchestra, both recordings being conducted by Vernon Handley.
The choir is conducted by some of the most eminent musicians, and as well as giving
frequent concerts in Guildford, the choir occasionally visits other British cities. In 1988
the Guildford Philharmonic Choir visited Paris and in 1990 joined forces with the
Freiburger Bach Choir in Freiburg Munster.
The Choir is trained by Neville Creed, who was appointed Chorus Master in 1987 and
he is assisted by Peter White. Jeremy Filsell is the Choir’s accompanist.
The Choir made a highly successful visit to Feiburg in
November 1993 where it gave an
outstanding performance of Britten’s War Requiem’.
Further details of the Choir may be obtained from: Kathleen Atkins, Guildford
Philharmonic, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford GU2 5BB. Tel: 0483 444666.
Choir
Chorus Master: Neville Creed.
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