1:
-~
>
}
BROADT\?‘
Z2)
§
5
=
i
e
g
‘
2
=
o
-
2
ThE
ko
o
y
:
5
|
o
st
b
4
]
e
\
i
3
i
b
r Allegri to Handel
The Brandenburg Sinfonia
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Vivace
P
B
Chorus
8 Saturday
5th March 201
7-.30 pm Guildford Cathedral
ANNA ARTHUR & ASSOCIATES
SOLICITORS
EVERY SUCCESS FOR THIS EVENING
FIERI FACIAS HOUSE, HIGH STREET
RIPLEY, SURREY GU23 6AF
TEL: 01483 222499 — FAX: 01483 222766
Broadly Baroque
Allegri:
Miserere mei
Pachelbel:
Canon
Buxtehude:
Magnificat
J S Bach:
Brandenburg Concerto No.3
Pergolesi:
Magnificat
Handel:
Dixit Dominus
Jocelyn Somerville
Soprano
Sonia Grané
Soprano
Leo Tomita
Counter-tenor
Alexander Sprague
Tenor
David Shipley
Bass
The Brandenburg Sinfonia
Conductor
Jeremy Backhouse
Vivace Chorus
PRE-CONCERT TALK
Masters of the Baroque
This will start at 6.30pm in the Chapter House of the Cathedral. The
speaker will be Terry Barfoot. Terry writes widely about music and is
Publications Consultant to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He
has lectured at Oxford University, the British Library, the Torbay Musical
Weekend and the Three Choirs Festival. He is Vice-President of the
Arthur Bliss Society, the Havant Orchestras, Southampton Music Club
and Portsmouth Baroque Choir, and an Honorary Member of the Berlioz
Society.
In this pre-concert talk, Terry will speak about the two greatest masters |
of the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich
Handel, concentrating particularly on the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
and the Dixit Dominus.
Please note: Members of the audience who wish to attend the talk and
do not already have reserved seating can reserve their concert seats §
beforehand in the appropriate unreserved areas of the Cathedral. The §
talk should finish at 7.10pm, allowing time to order refreshments etc.
5th March 2011
Dear Concert-goer
Those of you who love choral music will doubtless have heard that we
are performing Mahler's massive masterpiece, his 8th Symphony, at the
Royal Albert Hall in May.
This is one of the most popular works in the choral repertoire and yet is
heard only too rarely as it is created on such an epic scale. On 15th May
there will be over 500 performers, including the London Symphony
Chorus and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, all conducted by Jeremy
Backhouse.
We urge you not to miss this performance of ‘The Symphony of a
Thousand'. Tickets are on sale tonight or can be bought direct from the
Royal Albert Hall at www.royalalberthall.com.
As well as a (free) pre-concert talk entitled The universe bursts into
song: Mahler and his Eighth Symphony’ given by Mahler expert
Dr Jeremy Barham, we are offering a package that includes a coach for
Vivace Chorus
4
just £12 from Guildford to the concert and back. Check at the ticket desk
tonight or email tickets@vivacechorus.org.
We are very grateful to Siemens, Fairfax Properties and Spotify for their
generous support of the choir's promotion at this world-famous venue.
| very much hope you enjoy tonight’s concert, and look forward to seeing
you at the Royal Albert Hall in May.
Yours sincerely
James Garrow
Chairman
Flash photography, audio and video recording are not permitted without the
prior written consent of the Vivace Chorus. Please also kindly switch off all
mobile phones and alarms on digital watches.
Why ‘Broadly Baroque’?
The title of tonight’s concert was chosen as its content covers not only
what is usually recognised as Baroque music, but also the transitional
period from the late Renaissance, with the shifts in musical thinking that
took place in the last decades of the 16th century and the early decades
of the 17th.
The term ‘Baroque’ came into use in the arts for a new style committed
to genuine emotion and the imaginatively ornamental. Other art forms in
Europe, especially music, also developed a dramatic and ornamental
style during the Baroque era (approximately 1600 — 1750). Nowhere was
this more apparent than in ltaly, where both cultural influence and
massive patronage came from the Catholic Church and the wealthy
Italian nobility.
When compared with its predecessors, late Baroque music especially
can be seen as being highly ornate, lavishly textured and intense. The
Baroque era was characterised by rich counterpoint and a highly
decorated melodic line. Another distinguishing characteristic was the
emphasis on contrast of volume, texture and pace in the music, as
compared to music of the late Renaissance.
Given the difficulties of travel and communication at this time, it might
easily be assumed that composers would know relatively little of other
Vivace Chorus
5
composers or countries. Nothing could be further from the truth. Musicmaking was highly prized by many of the royal courts, and leading
musicians would often be financed for their journeys to bring back the
latest styles and compositions. Many eminent composers of the Baroque
period stayed in Rome or Venice, both of which also featured on the
‘Grand Tour’ enjoyed by the wealthy of Europe in increasing numbers
during the 1700s.
Thus German music adopted the ltalian forms of the concerto and
sonata, and with them, much of the Italian Baroque ‘vocabulary’, together
with the latest Italian compositions. However, Germany was in fact also
grafting these forms and styles onto its own indigenous traditions. The
Reformation had brought religion to the masses, and much Baroque
music in Germany was to grow and develop from the traditional chorale
melodies which accompanied the church service.
Gregorio Allegri (1582 — 1652)
Allegri was born in Rome in 1582, and became a chorister at the Papal
Chapel in 1591 until 1596, when his voice broke. He subsequently
became a tenor at St Luigi del Francesca for the next 8 years, and
studied with Giovanni Maria Nanino from 1600 until 1607. In 1604, he
was a singer and composer at Tivoli and Fermi, and then became
Maestro di Cappella at St Spirito, in Sassia, Rome in 1628. During this
time he composed a large number of motets and other sacred music,
which, being brought to the notice of Pope Urban VIIl, obtained for him
an appointment in the choir of the Sistine Chapel. Allegri joined the papal
choir in 1629, serving the Sistine Chapel until his death in 1652, aged 70.
In character, he was regarded as singularly pure and benevolent. He
wrote a large body of work, of both instrumental and sacred choral
music, favouring the style of his mentor Nanino, and his before him,
Palestrina.
The Miserere
In the 1630s Allegri composed for Holy Week a setting of Vulgate
Psalm 50, Miserere mei Deus, which eventually became his greatest
musical legacy. The piece was to be performed for the service of
Tenebrae (Latin for 'shadows' or 'darkness'), traditionally sung during the
last days of Holy Week. Its distinctive feature is the gradual extinguishing
of candles, representing the desertion of Jesus by his disciples and the
days of darkness — hence the name.
6
Vivace Chorus
For many years the Pope refused to allow copies of the Miserere
to be
removed from the chapel (the penalty for this being excommun
ication);
that is until Mozart attended the Holy Week performance in
1770. It was
after hearing this performance that he, at the age of 14, famously
wrote
out the forbidden music from memory, thus bringing the piece
to a wider
audience. (He supposedly returned the next day to correct
his score with
his manuscript under his hat!)
The
Miserere is one of the most often-recorded examples
of late
Renaissance music, although it was actually written during
the Baroque
era; in this regard it is representative of the musical
style of the
conservative Roman School of composers. Its haunting
tones are unique
and instantly recognisable even to those who know little
sacred
music.
choral
Allegri's musical structure follows what by then was common practice
for
the singing of this Psalm: alternation between plainchant
verses and
different choral elaborations of the chant. The Miserere opens
with a fivevoiced choir that harmonises the first Psalm verse, with the
chant melody
known as the tonus peregrinus. A simple chanted verse follows,
then a
verse sung by a distant choir of four soloists. Over the
verse
became
gradually
embellished
with
a
rich
years, each solo
oral
abbellimenti, the vocal ornamentation by the best singers in
tradition of
the Catholic
Church. The great castrati added the leap to high C at the crux
of each
solo verse, nowadays of course sung by a soprano. The final solo
verse
leads not into the expected chant, but instead into a choral
refrain that
includes the full nine-voiced texture: gradually, though, the
dynamic
recedes into the shadows.
Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam
misericordiam tuam.
Et secundum multitudinem miserationum
tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a
peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco:
Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great
goodness
According to the multitude of Thy mercies do
away mine offences.
Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and
cleanse me from my sin.
For | acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever
et peccatum meum contra me est semper.
before me.
Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut
iustificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum
Against Thee only have | sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in
Jjudicaris.
Vivace Chorus
Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et
Behold, | was shapen in wickedness: and in sin
occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.
Asperges me, hyssopo, et mundabor:
lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.
But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts:
and shalt make me to understand wisdom
secretly. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop and |
shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and | shall
in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et
hath my mother conceived me.
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness:
that the bones which Thou hast broken may
exsultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et
omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum
rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum
sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.
Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu
principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te
convertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus
salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea
iustitiam tuam.
be whiter than snow.
rejoice.
Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my
misdeeds. Make me a clean heart, O God: and
renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take
not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and
establish me with Thy free Spirit.
Then shall | teach Thy ways unto the wicked:
and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou
that art the God of my health: and my tongue
shall sing of Thy righteousness.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum
annuntiabit laudem tuam.
Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth
Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem
utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor
contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non
For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would | give
it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burntofferings. The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit:
a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou
despicies.
shall shew Thy praise.
not despise.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua
Sion: ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: build
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium iustitiae,
oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent
Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of
righteousness, with the bumt-offerings and
oblations: then shall they offer young calves
super altare tuum vitulos.
Thou the walls of Jerusalem.
upon Thine altar.
Johann Pachelbel (1653 — 1706)
Johann Pachelbel was south German born, but spent much of his career
in middle Germany. He studied in Nuremburg, Altdorf and Regensburg
before becoming the organist of St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, in 1674.
8
Vivace Chorus
He returned to Germany in 1677 as the court
organist at Eisenach, the
city of Bach's birth 8 years later. The followi
ng year he obtained the
organist post at the Predigerkirche at Erfurt,
remaining there for 12
years.
During
this
time
he
taught Johann
Christoph
Bach,
Johann
Sebastian's older brother and guardian in Ohrdru
f. In 1690, Pachelbel
became court organist at Stuttgart. Two years
later he took his final post,
in Nuremburg, where he lived until his death
in 1706. Pachelbel's
repertoire is the stylistic ancestor of J S
Bach's, and he wrote both free
works (toccatas, fantasies, fugues, etc) and
chorale settings. Pachelbel
was one of the great organist-composers
of his day, a man who could
count Bach's teacher among his pupils.
The Canon in D Major, which was written
in or around 1680, is a minor
piece by comparison to Pachelbel’s large-s
cale sacred works, but its
charming grace has made it a favourite. It
has appeared in numerous
transcriptions, including for piano, guitar,
woodwind, chorus and string
quartet
as
well
as
rock,
jazz
and
synthesiser
performance is a more conventional arrang
versions;
tonight's
ement for continuo strings.
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 - 1707)
Buxtehude’s exact place of birth is uncertain,
and nothing is known of his
early youth. It is usually assumed that he
began his musical education
with his father, who was organist at Helsingborg
(ca. 1638 — 1 641) and at
Helsinger, Elsinore (ca. 1642 — 1671), both
then part of Denmark.
Following in his father’s footsteps, he too played
the organ and for most
of his life was organist at the Marienkirche in
LUbeck, Germany.
As an organist Buxtehude represented the
height of North German
keyboard traditions, exercising a decisive
influence over the following
generation, notably on J S Bach, who undert
ook the long journey from
Arnstadt to Libeck to hear him play (outsta
ying his leave, to the
dissatisfaction of his employers!). Handel is
also known to have visited
Libeck, in 1703.
Buxtehude composed mostly vocal music, coverin
g a wide variety of
styles, and organ works, which concentrate
mostly on chorale settings
and large-scale sectional forms. Buxtehude's
great musical imagination
gives his works a lively, improvisational feel.
Buxtehude is considered
today to be the leading German composer in
the time between Heinrich
Schitz and J S Bach.
Vivace Chorus
9
Magnificat
Buxtehude was known to have written organ settings of the Magnificat,
but this charming little work survives only in one unsigned manuscript
source from a collection of over 100 known Buxtehude pieces. It has
been attributed to Buxtehude on stylistic grounds, despite the fact that its
lilting, triple-time melodies, simple diatonic harmony and clear sectional
structure are more characteristic of the Franco-ltalian bel canto style of
Carissimi and Lully.
This beautiful setting for choir and soloists, with strings and continuo
accompaniment, is music of endearing simplicity and melodic appeal.
Magnificat anima mea dominum,
et exultavit spiritus meus
in deo salutari meo. Quia respexit humilitatem
ancillae suae.
Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes
My soul doth magnify the Lord,;
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his
handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth all generations
generationes.
shall call me blessed.
et sanctum nomen ejus.
holy is his Name.
Et misericordia ejus a progenie
in progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo,
dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
And his mercy is on them that fear him,
throughout all generations. He hath shewed
strength with his arm; he hath scattered the
proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Deposuit potentes de sede,
et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis
He hath put down the mighty from their seat,
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things, and
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est,
et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum,
For he that is mighty hath magnified me; and
the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his
recordatus misericordie suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,
Abraham et semini ejus in secula.
servant Israel;
as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed, for ever.
et spiritui sancto.
and to the Holy Ghost.
Gloria patri et filio
Sicut erat in principio
et nunc et semper,
et in secula seculorum. Amen.
10
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
As it was in the beginning,
is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Vivace Chorus
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 — 1750)
Johann
Sebastian
Bach
was
the son
of Johann
Ambrosius,
court
trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and director of the musicians of the
town of Eisenach in Thuringia. Young Johann Sebastian was taught by
his father to play the violin and harpsichord, and was initiated into the art
of organ playing by his famous uncle, Johann Christoph Bach, who was
then organist at the Georgenkirche in Eisenach. Orphaned by the age
of 10, Johann Sebastian was taken into the home of his eldest brother,
another Johann Christoph, former pupil of Pachelbel, and now wellestablished as organist of the St Michaeliskirche, Ohrdruf. Johann
Sebastian at once settled down happily in this household, studying the
organ and harpsichord with great interest under his brother.
It was his excellent soprano voice that secured Johann Sebastian a
position in the choir of the wealthy Michaelis monastery at Liineburg,
where he had a unique chance to study and participate in choral and
orchestral performances on a scale unknown in his homeland. When
nearly 18, Bach embarked on his professional career, firstly as a violinist
and then as an organist.
In 1708, the Duke of Weimar, one of the most distinguished and cultured
nobles of his time, offered Bach a post among his Court chamber
musicians and as Organist to the Court. During this time, interest was in
the new lItalian style of music which was then becoming the rage of
Europe. In 1717, Bach moved to the small Court of Anhalt-Céthen to
hold the position of Capellmeister, the highest rank given to a musician
during the Baroque era. His master was the young prince Leopold of
Anhalt-Céthen, who had well-developed musical tastes. In the happy
atmosphere at Céthen, Bach's days were devoted to music and he wrote
much of his chamber music; violin concertos, sonatas, keyboard music,
etc. However, he wished to give his sons a good education, and there
was no university at Céthen, nor the cultured atmosphere and facilities of
a larger city, so Bach decided to look around for a new position.
It may have been this hope of prospective employment which in 1721 led
Bach to revive an old invitation to produce what are now known as the
Brandenburg
Concertos,
which
he described as "six concertos for
already met the
Margrave of
Brandenburg, and had been invited to provide some orchestral music,
but there is no record of Bach's having subsequently visited the
Margrave at his Brandenburg Court. However, the death in June 1722 of
Johann Kuhnau, Cantor of the Thomasschule at Leipzig, led to a more
attractive opportunity. Bach already had many musical and courtly
several
instruments".
Vivace Chorus
Bach
had
11
connections in Leipzig, where there was also a famous university and a
distinctly cosmopolitan atmosphere. So Bach left for Leipzig, where he
spent the remaining 27 years of his life as Cantor, or Director of Choir
and Music.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G, BWV 1048
Allegro moderato
Adagio
Allegro
The Brandenburg Concertos are less a coherent collection of pieces than
a demonstration of Bach's skill in working with different orchestral
textures and colours, and some of the music may date back to 1713. The
pieces are of the concerto grosso type, with one group of instruments
standing in contrast to the rest of the orchestra. Sometimes the contrast
is established by differences in tone colour between the group and the
orchestra, sometimes it is achieved by texture and weight. Brandenburg
Concerto No. 3 in G is of this latter type. It is scored for strings only. The
strings are divided into nine parts, and there is a tenth part for basso
continuo. The parts join together in the tutti sections, or split into groups
of violins, violas and cellos (three of each instrument), or individual solo
instruments. The first movement takes the form of a da capo aria, but the
second section is not an exact repetition of the first and contains
additional developments of the music. The second movement is
something of a mystery. All that Bach provided in the manuscript at this
point were the tempo indication Adagio and two chords, constituting a
Phrygian, or imperfect, cadence. Most musicologists accept that this
movement was intended to be an improvised extended cadenza by a
solo instrument, possibly a violin. The final movement is an exuberant
dance in triple time, in two sections.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 — 1736)
Pergolesi was born in Jesi, in the Adriatic coastal Marche province of
ltaly, where he studied music under Francesco Santini. He then moved
to Naples in 1725, where he studied under Gaetano Greco and
Francesco Feo among others. He spent most of his brief life working for
aristocratic patrons in Neapolitan courts. Pergolesi died at the age of 26
from tuberculosis in Pozzuoli, near Naples.
12
Vivace Chorus
A violinist and organist, Pergolesi was one of the most important early
composers of opera buffa (comic opera) and also wrote sacred music
and a number of secular instrumental works, including a violin sonata
and a violin concerto. His sacred works include a Mass in F, his
Magnificat and, perhaps best known, his Stabat Mater.
The Magnificat performed this evening is a setting for soli, chorus and
orchestra of the traditional Magnificat mei, Deus text (see page 10), from
a manuscript found in the Bibliotecha Civiva di Bergamo, ascribed to
Pergolesi. (Some question remains as to the authorship of the work,
partly on account of the appearance of copies attributed to Francesco
Durante, a teacher of Pergolesi.) Regardless of its composer, this lively
music, which contrasts well with the simple style of the Buxtehude
Magnificat, presents a skilful accommodation of the new ‘style galant’
developed by the Neapolitan School and the old ‘learned’ polyphonic
style of Baroque church music.
~ Interval ~
Georg Friedrich Handel (1685 — 1759)
Handel was born in Halle, Germany, one month before Johann
Sebastian Bach and 50 miles from Eisenach, Bach's birthplace. His
father was a barber-surgeon who wanted his son to go into law.
However, with his father in 1692, the young Handel visited the Saxon
court at Weissenfels, where Duke Johann Adolf heard him play the
organ. The Duke advised the father to have his son properly tutored, so
at the age of 10, Handel began to receive composition lessons from the
organist at the Marienkirche, Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow.
His first employment, aged 17, was as organist at the local church in
Halle, then in 1703, Handel was appointed violinist-composer for
Hamburg's German opera. For a while he travelled Europe, enjoying
considerable success from the various operas he composed. Handel
was 21 when, in 1706, he undertook an extended visit to Italy. His return
to Hanover was to assume the post of Kapellmeister to the Elector (soon
to become King George | of England). In 1712 Handel moved to London;
2 years later, upon the accession of the House of Hanover, he gained
immediate access to the royal circle of England and, in 1726, became a
naturalised British subject.
Vivace Chorus
13
Dixit Dominus is the musical centrepiece of Handel's setting of the
complete Vespers service for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
composed during the early stages of his stay in Rome in 1707. It is a
setting of Psalm 110 (109 in the Catholic psalter) and the most brilliant
and famous of Handel’s three Vesper psalms (the others being Laudate
pueri Dominum and Nisi Dominus).
Handel was in Rome both to practise his art and also to learn. He seems
to have assimilated the techniques of contemporary ltalian style with little
effort. Writing music for the Catholic Church would also have been a new
experience for a North German protestant, yet he faced few obstacles
here, either. Dixit Dominus can lay claim to being Handel's first piece of
Latin church music, and as such, is a remarkable achievement. It shows
that in only a few months following his arrival in Italy, Handel had
thoroughly assimilated the highly charged, emotional style that
characterised Italian music of the late Baroque period.
Handel was only 22 at the time, and the music overflows with youthful
exuberance and infectious vitality; there is little of that relaxed grandeur
that is so typical of his English music. Dixit Dominus is a large-scale work
arranged for five soloists, five-part chorus, strings and continuo. Each of
the nine movements is strongly characterised, reflecting a powerful
combination of Italian techniques and textures that owe much to Corelli,
Alessandro Scarlatti and other contemporaries, with Handel's own
strong, very German grounding in counterpoint.
The power and vitality are evident from the first movement, a spirited
Allegro revolving around four contrasting musical ideas. After two
delightful ltalianate arias for alto and soprano respectively, the ensuing
chorus Juravit Dominus opens with a passage marked grave, the
harmonisation of which is rather advanced. The G minor Allegro that
alternates with it in this movement is fiery. The brisk but stately chorus
that follows contrasts a dignified rising figure at the words Tu es
sacerdos in aeternum with cascading semiquavers. (This same music
was reworked 30 years later into an eight-part chorus in Israel in Egypt.)
A flowing allegro, opened by the five soloists and taken up by the full
chorus, builds in intensity to depict God in his anger breaking the kings.
Judicabit in nationibus is a beautifully crafted chorus in two distinct but
complementary sections, the second of which gives the choir an
opportunity for some delicate, virtuosic runs. The music of both sections
merges towards the end. Following the ravishing yet enigmatic duet (with
chorus) De torrente in via bibet, the choir takes off upon a dazzling finale,
in which the virtuoso prelude leads into a driving fugue at double the
14
Vivace Chorus
previous speed, a fiery precursor of the great oratorio choruses still
30 years in the future. This is the youthful Handel at his most virile.
Dixit Dominus, HWV 232
|
Dixit Dominus — Soloists & Chorus
Il
Virgam virtutis — Alto solo
1]
Tecum principium — Soprano solo
IV
Juravit Dominus — Chorus
V
Tu es sacerdos — Chorus
VI
Dominus a dextris tuis — Soloists & Chorus
VIl
Judicabit in nationibus — Chorus
Vil
De torrente in via bibet — Chorus
IX
Gloria Patri— Soloists & Chorus
Dixit Dominus Domino meo: sede a
The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou
dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos
at my right hand, until | make thine enemies
scabellum pedum tuorum.
thy footstool.
Virgam virtutis tuae emitet Dominus
The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength
ex Sion, dominare in medio inimicorum
tuorum.
out of Zion: rule thou in the midst
of thine enemies.
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuae
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,
in splendoribus sanctorum, ex utero
in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the
ante luciferum genui te.
morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Juravit Dominus et non poenitebit eum:
The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent:
Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum
Thou art a priest for ever according to
ordinam Melchisedech.
the order of Melchisedech.
Dominus a dextris tuis confregit in
The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings
die irae suae reges.
in the day of his wrath.
Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas,
He shall judge among nations, he shall fill the
conquassabit capita in terra multorum.
places with dead bodies and smite in sunder the
heads over many countries.
De torrente in via bibet: proptera
He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore
exaltabit caput.
shall he lift up his head.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto,
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the
sicut erat in principio et nunc et simper
Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and
in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Vivace Chorus
15
Jocelyn Somerville — Soprano
Jocelyn did her first degree at
she
where
University
Cardiff
achieved a 2:1 in Music with
English. She received the Sir
Geraint Evans award for her final
recital and gained the highest mark
in her year. She has been pursuing
a career in singing since then, and
has taken part in a number of vocal
projects. She was selected for a
Master class series in Ischia at the
William Walton Foundation in 2007,
and went to Nice to take part in the
Academie Internationale d’Ete de
Nice under the aegis of the
Guildhall School of Music and
Drama in 2006. She took part in the
Dorset Opera Summer School in 2006 and, more recently, was a
member of the Welsh National Youth Opera and their summer
production of The Calling of Maisy Day.
Currently studying with Elizabeth Ritchie at the Royal Academy, she has
recently completed a Masters in Advanced Musical Studies
(Performance) at Royal Holloway, and is a member of The English
Baroque Choir under the direction of Jeremy Jackman. Having recently
become a member of the prestigious Vasari Singers under Jeremy
Backhouse, she has performed solos in Canterbury Cathedral, St Paul’s
Knightsbridge, and Douai Abbey in Berkshire. She has performed
professionally for the last 3 years, and is interested in Baroque music, as
well as French Romantic and English Song. She can be contacted via
her website, www.jocelynsomerville.com
TW
16
Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, 20 Nov 2016 ’
Can I say how much we both enjoyed the Rossini concert
at the Cathedral on November 20TM? It was a super
concert into which the Vivace members had put a lot of
hard work.
Vivace Chorus
B
Sénia Grané has a degree in Biology
but couldn’t put aside her passion for
music and art. She studied at the
Conservatoire in Lisbon and currently
she is studying at postgraduate level
with
Lillian
Watson
and
Jonathan
Papp at the Royal Academy of Music,
where she is generously supported
by
the
Santander
Award,
Lucille
Graham Award, Leverhulme Award,
Josephine Baker Trust and Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation.
Soénia performs regularly in Portugal,
England and France and has won
several competitions in Portugal. She
~
P
has done several masterclasses with
famous
singers
such
as
world
Angehka Klrchschlager Robert Tear, Sir Thomas Allen and Ann Murray.
Despite her young age she has already performed the roles of Dido in
Purcell’'s Dido and Aeneas, Papagena, 1st Boy and 1st Lady in Mozart’s
Magic Flute in Teatro Nacional St Carlos (Lisbon) and in numerous
opera scenes.
Recently
she
has
sung
at
King’s
Place,
St Martin-in-the-Fields,
Halesworth Festival and also in Paris, Deauville and Nantes, in the
prestigious La Folle Journée music festival.
L.W0
Vivace Chorus
7272
2L
2
e
L
L
e
e
2
e
e
e
)
Come and Sing Baroque, 22 January 2011
“Firstly a big thank you for a very enjoyable
day at the ‘come and sing’' on Saturday. It was
so well organised and what an excellent
conductor you have. He really sets the
’
standard doesn't he! *
17
Leo Tomita — Counter-tenor
Leo is a counter-tenor with performing
ranging
from
Baroque
experience
oratorio to 19th century German Lied.
He read Chemical Engineering with an
Organ Scholarship at Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge, and then held the
position of Lay Clerk at St John’s
College, Cambridge. Leo is currently
studying with Michael Chance and lain
Ledingham on the MA course at the
Royal Academy of Music.
Awards
include
a
Postgraduate
Performance Award administered by the
Musicians Benevolent Fund and runnerup in the Blyth-Buesst operatic prize.
Leo was a semi-finalist in the London
Bach Society’s Singers Prize 2010. He
is supported by the Josephine Baker Trust.
Leo has performed in venues including St John’s, Smith Square, St
Martin-in-the-Fields and Ely Cathedral, with ensembles including the
Britten Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the
Brandenburg Sinfonia. His performed works include Handel's Messiah,
various J S Bach cantatas including Himmelfahrts-Oratorium BWV 11
and Magnificat BWV 243, Haydn’'s Creation, Vivaldi’'s Magnificat,
Monteverdi’'s Vespers of 1610, Mozart's Requiem, Purcell's Come ye
Sons of Art, Pergolesi’'s Magnificat and Greene’s Ode to St Cecelia.
In the field of opera, Leo has sung the role of Boss in Kim Ashton's
chamber opera The Boy, the Forest and the Desert and excerpts in the
title role of Handel's Flavio in the Royal Academy’s Sir Jack Lyons
Theatre. In April, he will perform excerpts from Jonathan Dove’s opera
Flight as the Refugee.
Leo has also given recitals in London, Cambridge and Oxford with
repertoire including works by Purcell, Britten, Schumann and Anthony
Powers.
18
Vivace Chorus
Alexander Sprague — Tenor
Alexander is currently studying with
Ryland Davies and lain Ledingham on
the
§
Opera
Course
Academy
of
Music,
supported
by
the
at
The
where
Josephine
Royal
he
is
Baker
Trust. Alexander is the recipient of the
Grant McCann Prize and the Kohn
Bach
Foundation
scholarship,
performing
tenor
arias
in
the
&
Academy’s
Bach
Cantata
Forthcoming
performances
working
with
John
Butt,
series.
include
Rachel
Podger and Peter Schreier.
Alexander’'s
ever
operatic
increasing;
experience
most
recently
is
he
understudied Don Ottavio in Don
Giovanni (Longborough Festival Opera) and was the recipient of The
Haskell Family Foundation Scholarship to perform scenes as Ferrando in
Cosi Fan Tutte at The Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme. Next year
he will cover Monostatos in The Magic Flute for Garsington Opera and
Agenore in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore for The Classical Opera Company.
As a member of Royal Academy Opera, Alexander has performed the
roles Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte), Demo (Cavalli’'s /| Giasone), The Mayor
(Britten’s Albert Herring),
Don
Eusebio (Rossini’'s L’Occassione fa il
Ladro and Apollo (Handel's Semele), working with conductors including
Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackerras, Dr Jane Glover and directors
John Copley and John Cox.
Alexander has made numerous solo appearances across the country on
the oratorio stage, most recently in Bach’s St John Passion in Lincoln
Cathedral; Mozart's Requiem in St Martin-in-the-Fields and, with the
Northern Sinfonia, in Durham Cathedral; as the Evangelist in St John
Passion in Bristol Cathedral; in Jenkins’ The Armed Man with Guernsey
Symphony Orchestra and on tour with Handel's Messiah with the Bath
Philharmonia.
Also a consort singer, Alexander regularly appears with The Monteverdi
Choir (for which he has also performed as a soloist) under Sir John Eliot
Gardiner, touring across the UK, Europe and USA, at venues including
Carnegie Hall, New York and Opera Comique, Paris.
Vivace Chorus
19
David Shipley — Bass
David's vocal training began as a
treble in Lichfield Cathedral Choir
when
Andrew
Lumsden
was
organist. In his final year, he
became Head Chorister and won a
music scholarship to Shrewsbury
School. After leaving school, he
spent a year in Wells Cathedral
Choir as a choral scholar under
Matthew Owens, while working as
a
part-time
graduate
music
assistant
at
Wells
Cathedral
School. During his gap year, he
was awarded a Sir Elton John
Scholarship to study at the Royal
Academy of Music under Mark
Wildman and lain Ledingham.
In October 2008, at the beginning of his second year at the Academy,
David won the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary, and was selected to
sing Christus in the Academy’s performance of Bach’s St John Passion
at the Spitalfields Festival in June the following year. He was also
chosen to be a member of the small chamber group that provides the
chorus for the acclaimed series of Sunday lunch-time Bach Cantata
concerts at the Academy.
During his time as an undergraduate, David has had the opportunity to
in a number of masterclasses with visiting professors,
including Robert Tear and Barbara Bonney. He recently auditioned
participate
successfully for support from the Josephine Baker Trust. David is now in
the final year of his undergraduate course and will be continuing his
studies at postgraduate level next year at the Academy.
The Vivace Chorus gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship of
Sénia Grané, Leo Tomita, Alexander Sprague and David Shipley by
the Josephine Baker Trust.
20
Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse began his
musical career in Canterbury
Cathedral, where he was Head
Chorister, and later studied music
at Liverpool University. He spent
5years as Music Editor at the
Royal National Institute of Blind
People (RNIB), where he was
responsible for the transcription of
print music into Braille. In 1986 he
joined EMI Records as a Literary
1990
April
from
and
Editor
t
Consultan
a
as
work
combined his
Editor for EMI Classics and later Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers
with his career as a freelance conductor.
In January 1995, Jeremy was appointed Chorus Master and
subsequently Music Director of the Guildford Philharmonic Choir (now
the Vivace Chorus). Jeremy has presented and conducted some
ambitious programmes, including Howell's Hymnus Paradisi and
Szymanowski's Stabat Mater, Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony (No. 2)
and ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ (No. 8), Vaughan Williams” A Sea
Symphony, Mendelssohn’s ‘Lobgesang’ (Symphony No. 2), and
Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. Major classical
popular works have included Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Verdi's
Requiem and most recently, in November 2009, Haydn's The Creation.
Since 1980, Jeremy has been the conductor of the Vasari Singers,
acknowledged as one of the finest chamber choirs in the country,
performing music from the Renaissance to contemporary commissions.
Jeremy is totally committed to contemporary music and to the
commissioning of new works. He and Vasari have commissioned over
20 works in their recent history, and this enthusiasm has spread to the
Vivace Chorus who, in May 2009, performed the premiere of their first
commission — local composer Will Todd's Te Deum.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country’s leading choirs,
including the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral Society and the
Brighton Festival Chorus. For 6 years, to the end of 2004, Jeremy was
the Music Director of the Wooburn Singers, following Richard Hickox and
Stephen Jackson. In January 2009, Jeremy was appointed Music
Director of the Salisbury Community Choir.
Vivace Chorus
21
che
d
b
-
“ J urb
Artistic Director — Robert Porter
Associate Music Director — Sarah Tenant-Flowers
The Brandenburg Sinfonia is one of the most dynamically versatile
musical organisations in the country. It is renowned for its special quality
of sound and poised vivacity in performance. The orchestra performs
regularly in the majority of the major venues across the country, and in
London at the Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Fairfield Halls and St John's, Smith Square. The Brandenburg Sinfonia is
also in great demand abroad and has visited France, USA, Bermuda, the
Channel Islands, Barbados, Russia, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong. In
1999 the orchestra established major concert series at both St Martin-inthe-Fields and Crystal Palace Bowl.
A large number of artists of international standing have worked with the
orchestra including Emanuel Hurwitz, Lesley Garrett, John Georgiadis,
John Wallace, Michael Thompson and Gordon Hunt. lts repertoire
ranges from Bach to Lloyd Webber and its members give around
100 performances of orchestral, chamber, choral and operatic music
during the year. The orchestras for a number of touring companies are
formed from members of the Brandenburg Sinfonia including First Act
Opera, London City Opera, Opera Holland Park, London Opera Players
and Central Festival Opera.
Violin 1
John Mills
Emil Chakalov
Deborah White
Caroline Frenkel
Viola
Bass
Matthew Quenby
Mark Braithwaite
Oliver Wilson
Tina Jacobs-Lim
Beverley Jones
Kate Aldridge
Violin 2
Cello
Continuo
Anna Biggin
Helena Ruinard
Sarah Butcher
Rowena Calvert
Martin Hall
Mary Hoffman
Sarah Westley
Anna de Bruin
Kokila Gillet
Tina Jacobs-Lim
22
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANOS
Joanna Andrews
Helen Beevers
Mary Broughton
Rachel Edmondson
Maggie Martelli
Susan Norton
Margaret Parry
Margaret Perkins
Kate Rayner
Carol Terry
Nikki Vale
Sally Varley
SECOND SOPRANOS
Jacqueline Alderton
Anna Arthur
Alison Dawson
Mandy Freeman
Jane Kenney
Krystyna Marsden
Debbie Morton
Alison Palmer
Kate Peters
Rosalind Plowright
Isobel Rooth
Ann Sheppard
Judy Smith
Paula Sutton
Zowie Sweetland
Philippa Walker
Christine Wilks
Frances Worpe
FIRST ALTOS
Penny Baxter
Monika Boothby
Jane Brooks
Sue Fletcher
Jane Hedgecock
Sheila Hodson
Pamela Leggatt
Jean Leston
Judith Lewy
Margaret Mann
Vivace Chorus
Liz Markwell
Lois McCabe
Kay McManus
Christine Medlow
Rosalind Milton
Mary Moon
Lesley Scordellis
Catherine Shacklady
Ann Smith
Hilary Trigg
Maggie Woolcock
SECOND ALTOS
Geraldine Allen
Hannah Andrews
Evelyn Beastall
Sylvia Chantler
Mary Clayton
Andrea Dombrowe
Carolyn Edis
Celia Embleton
Elizabeth Evans
Hazel Freeston
Valerie Garrow
Jo Glover
Margaret Grisewood
Barbara Hilder
Yvonne Hungerford
Janet Lansdale
Brenda Moore
Jacqueline Norman
Beryl Northam
Sheila Rowell
Prue Smith
Jo Stokes
Rosey Storey
Pamela Usher
June Windle
Elisabeth Yates
FIRST TENORS
SECOND TENORS
John Bawden
Bob Bromham
Peter Butterworth
Tony Chantler
John Duke
Geoff Johns
Stephen Linton
Peter Norman
Jon Scott
FIRST BASSES
John Britten
Michael Golden
Brian John
Jeremy Johnson
Jonathan Long
Eric Kennedy
Chris Newbery
Chris Peters
Robin Privett
David Ross
Philip Stanford
Barry Sterndale-Bennett
SECOND BASSES
Peter Andrews
Roger Barrett
Alan Batterbury
Norman Carpenter
Dave Cox
Geoffrey Forster
James Garrow
Stuart Gooch
Nick Gough
Michael Jeffery
Neil Martin
Mike Osborn
John Parry
Chris Short
Michael Taylor
Bob Cowell
Tim Hardyment
Martin Price
John Trigg
23
About the Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Music Director
Francis Pott
Accompanist
The Committee
James Garrow
Chairman
Tel. 01403 751552
Isobel Rooth
Hon. Secretary
Tel. 01252 702979
Bob Cowell
Hon. Treasurer
Tel. 01483 770896
Membership Secretary
Tel. 01483 539088
Jane Brooks
email: secretary@vivacechorus.org
email: membership@vivacechorus.org
Michael Taylor
Ticket sales
Tel. 07958 519741
Jackie Alderton
Mailing list
Tel. 01932 343625
Gill Perkins
Sponsorship
Tel. 01483 458132
Chris Short
Patrons Secretary
Tel. 07703 807250
Hilary Trigg
Publicity
Tel: 01483 566341
email: tickets@vivacechorus.org
email: publicity@vivacechorus.org
Elizabeth Durning
Committee member
Neil Martin
Committee member
Other (non-Committee) responsibilities
Christine Medlow
Music Librarian
John Britten
Music sales
Margaret Mann
Pre-concert talks
Prue Smith
Auditions accompanist, cathedral & library displays
Brenda Moore
Programme compilation
Lesley Scordellis
Programme compilation
John Trigg
Concert Manager and soloists liaison
Chris Alderton
Front of House
Chris Peters
Website Manager
For other phone numbers and email addresses, please refer to the
'Contact us' page of our website: www.vivacechorus.org.
24
Vivace Chorus
The choir was founded in 1947 as the Guildford Philharmonic Choir but
in May 2005, to reflect its new independent status from the Borough of
Guildford, 'rebranded' itself as the Vivace Chorus. We enjoy a
challenging and varied repertoire from the 16th century onwards; some
pieces are well-known, others are rarities deserving to be heard by a
wider audience.
Our 2008/9 season, which included a spectacular performance of Verdi's
Requiem with our twin choir, the Freiburger Bachchor, and Romsey
Choral Society, culminated with Will Todd's Te Deum — a world premiére
and first commission by the choir, which we recorded last summer and
have released on CD. (Copies are available tonight from the ticket desk.)
The 2009/10 season started in lively fashion with Haydn's The Creation,
to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death. Our ltalian
evening in March showed the operatic composers Verdi and Puccini in a
light new to many and, lastly, we brushed up our Russian pronunciation,
returning to Prokofiev, this time with Ivan the Terrible.
We began this season with Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle — perhaps
somewhat inaccurately named as it is neither petite, nor indeed very
solennelle. The choral singing was described as “a triumph”.
After tonight’s concert, we will begin preparing for our biggest project to
date: to mark the centenary of Mahler’s death, we will be performing his
monumental Symphony No. 8 in the Royal Albert Hall on 15th May. We
do hope you will be able to join us on what promises to be a memorable
occasion.
In addition to our own concert programme, we regularly sing in a 'Last
Night of the Proms' charity concert in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, at the
Mayor of Guildford’s annual carol concert and, with our good friends the
Brandenburg Sinfonia, we sing at least once a year in the superb venue
of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
We also, on occasion, venture further afield. Trips abroad have included
visits to Freiburg, Germany, to sing with the Freiburger Bachchor and, in
June 2009, to France where we gave concerts of music from the early
16th to late 20th centuries in the cathedrals of Paris (Notre-Dame),
Rouen and Beauvais.
If you are interested in singing with us, please contact Jane Brooks,
01483 539088. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings at Holy Trinity
Church, Guildford High Street, and prospective members are welcome to
attend rehearsals on an informal basis before committing to an audition.
For more information, see our website at www.vivacechorus.org.
Vivace Chorus
25
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all Patrons
for their financial support.
Honorary Life Patrons:
Mr Bill Bellerby MBE
Dr John Trigg MBE
Mrs Doreen Bellerby MBE
Platinum Patrons:
Dr Roger Barrett
Mrs Rita Horton
Mr and Mrs Peter B P Bevan
Mr Laurie James
Mrs J G Blacker
Mrs Pamela Leggatt
John and Barbara Britten
John and Janet MclLean
Mr and Mrs R H R Broughton
Ron and Christine Medlow
Mr Michael Dawe
Dr Roger Muray
Mr Mark Dawson
Mr and Mrs Maxwell S New
Mr and Mrs G Dombrowe
Dr and Mrs M G M Smith
Mr and Mrs Joseph Durning
Mrs Kathy Stickland
Dr Michael Golden
Miss Enid Weston
Susan and Cecil Hinton
Bill and June Windle
Mrs Carol Hobbs
Gold Patrons:
Mr Robin Broadley
Mrs Jean Radley
Mr and Mrs Philip Davies
Brenda and Brian Reed
Mr and Mrs John Parry
Prue and Derek Smith
Silver Patrons:
Mrs Iris Bennett
Mrs M van Koetsveld
Mr H J C Browne
Mr Lionel Moon
Mrs Maryel Cowell
New Patrons are always welcome. If you are interested in participating,
please contact our Patrons Secretary, Chris Short, on 07703 807250 or
email patrons@vivacechorus.org
Our Patrons scheme underwent a re-launch in 2009, the purpose of
which was two-fold: to give Patrons additional benefits for their financial
backing and to encourage new Patrons to support the choir, which will
help us to continue to perform innovative, high-quality programmes.
26
Vivace Chorus
"Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle,
g
e
e e e
Ll
3
.
,
20 Nov 2010
from Gillian Ramsden's review
for 'The Surrey Advertiser'
'A Mass with a Mission'
In this performance by Vivace Chorus of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle we heard
something greater than the sum of its parts. This was truly a Mass to appeal to the
common man and not just the converted; an experience for lovers of every kind of
music, instrumental, choral, opera, oratorio and even jazz, and the combined forces of
choir, soloists and instrumentalists rose to all the challenges inherent in such a diverse
work. Rossini labelled it one of his Peches de vieillesse - (Sins of old age), and gave us
music which echoes and pre-empts many styles of composition from 16th to early 20th
century; a composer not afraid to show who had influenced him musically but equally
unafraid to be himself, innovative and always fun.
Rossini composed forty operas before he was 37 years old, then in old age, after
26 barren years, he returned to health, humour and a musical re-birth, to compose,
amongst many other works, this 'little’ Mass: not little in length, only in scale. He
¢ composed it for 12 voices, the soloists to augment the chorus parts when not singing
solo lines, with piano and harmonium accompaniment.
The Vivace Chorus excelled themselves, bringing us the all sharp contrasts of dynamic,
style and rhythm inherent in this work. Whether pianississimo or triple forte, sustained
or lyrical the choral singing was a triumph, and nowhere more so than in the two great
fugal passages where the Amens twist and turn, in what seems to be joyous abandon,
but is in fact incredibly difficult to articulate and control.
It is hard to criticise such all round excellence, but with a choir more than 100 strong
and the piano a concert grand, the harmonium /s inaudible. Sensibly, a keyboard
replaced the harmonium most of the time, allowing us to hear how Rossini used it to
sustain the harmonies especially in sections where the piano music is very fragmented.
However the keyboard sounds much more direct than the wheezing harmonium and all
honour to Martin Hall for successfully making this a viable option.
’ The piano part is a four de force and no praise can be too high for Francis Pott who
played, effortlessly, every style Rossini threw at him and truly made the piano sing.
It is not often that an audience hears four soloists of such a high standard; the bright
and dramatic soprano of Deboragh Abbott, the fine Italianate singing in the Domine
/
TO
T
Deus of Stephen Aviss, the rich contralto of Natalia Brzezinska and the sonorous bassbaritone of Charles Rice. The final Agnus Dei gave full rein to the glorious voice of the
contralto, who with instrumentalists and choir brought the evening to a poignant and
. dramatic close.
y
L) 40 0 40
0
7 897 80 40 85 0
89/ 85 50
0 4
Vivace Chorus
50
/0
0
5 89 80
0
0 B0 89
59
00 80/ 80 80
0 85 80 ) 80 80
) 0 0
) ) 0 89 9 85
0
5 40 89150
9
[0 M
) 80
/40
80 5 40 7 0 0 5 9
/9 9
0 4
27
B
For Complete
Family Eyecare
Extensive range offrames
with many designer names
17 Commercial Way, Woking, GU21 6XR
Tel: 01483 766800
Richard Broughton FCOptom DipCLP
Resident Partner
Branches also at:
Camberley, Fleet and Guildford
John Harwood
Optometrists & Contact Lens Practitioners
The staging for this concert is owned by
the Association of Surrey Choirs. To
Financially assisted by
G‘
hire (for use in Guildford Cathedral
only), please contact Penny Peters,
Cathedral Office (tel: 01403 547860). It
was purchased with financial assistance
from the Foundation for Sport and Arts,
PO Box 20, Liverpool.
GUILDFORD
BOROUGH
Tonight's concert has been
held in Guildford Cathedral
by kind permission of the
Dean and Chapter.
Vivace Chorus
Registered Charity No 1026337
in the name of Guildford Philharmonic Choir
Some of the printed music for this evening's concert has been hired from
Surrey County Council Performing Arts Library.
Vivace Chorus
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY
The next Vivace Chorus concert in Guildford will be in the Cathedral on
Saturday 19th November.
It will feature a selection of works by C Hubert H Parry:
I was glad
extract from Judith (incl. tune ‘Dear Lord and Father’)
Elegy for Brahms
Blest Pair of Sirens
together with
Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem
In his day, Hubert Parry was widely regarded as the finest British
composer since Purcell and was at the forefront of the renaissance in
British music. Here we present all sides of his varied musical personality:
the ‘official’, public composer (/ was glad, written for the Coronation of
King Edward VIl in 1902 and sung at every Coronation since); the
passionate master of the choral idiom (Blest Pair of Sirens, written for
C V Stanford and the Bach Choir in 1887; the curator of the great British
tradition of oratorio writing and the finest of tunesmiths (the ‘Dear Lord
and Father’ melody from Judith, 1888); and the intense, private man
(Elegy for Brahms, written in memory of his greatest musical influence on
hearing of his death in 1897).
Brahms wrote his ‘Requiem in the German language’ between 1865 and
1868 after the death of both his mother and his dear friend, the
composer Robert Schumann. More than any other composer of a
requiem, Brahms focuses on the human element of loss, grief and
salvation in preference to any specific Christian approach; Brahms
himself toyed with the idea of calling the work ‘A Human Requiem’. But
however one approaches the work, there is no doubt that it contains
some of the most beautiful, uplifting and profound musical utterances
from the hand of any composer.
Printed by WORDCRAFT
115 Merrow Woods, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2LJ
Tel: 01483 560735
Vivace Chorus
29
THE STUDENT ARTS ORCHESTRA
Conducted by Alex Parker
Led by Emily Davis
PRODUCTIONS
APPALACHIAN SPRING
Aaron Copland
RHAPSODY IN BLUE
George Gershwin
SONDHEIM COLLECTION
Stephen Sondheim
:
SYMPHONIC DANCES f
‘WEST SIDESTORY’
Leonard Bernstein
:
.
z
.
SUNDAY 3RD APRIL 2011
YVONNE ARNAUD THEATRE, GUILDFORD
7.30PM
BOX OFFICE 01483 440000
BOOK ONLINE www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
30
‘Y
suoroos
THEATRE
Vivace Chorus
VIVACE
CH
LONDON §
Online: www.royalalberthall.com
Tickets £s5-£40
Telephone: 020 7589 8212
Registered Charity No 1026337
a
S'u.'nda.y 15th Ma.y 2011 7.30 'pm