THE
ITALIAN
JOB
Hennessey Brown Music
Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Allegri: Miserere mei
Pergolesi: Magnificat
Gabrieli: Jubilate Deo
Monteverdi: Beatus Vir
Handel: Dixit Dominus
Vivace
Saturday
20 May 2023
at 7.30pm
Holy Trinity, Guildford
03/05/2023 13:27
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The Italian Job
Miserere Mei
Magnificat
Jubilate Deo
Beatus Vir
Dixit Dominus
Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Emilia Bertolini
Lexie Moon
Dafydd Jones
Daniel Barrett
Gregorio Allegri
Giovanni Pergolesi
Giovanni Gabrieli
Claudio Monteverdi
George F. Handel
Soprano
Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano
Tenor
Baritone
Vivace Chorus
Hennessy Brown Music Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Concert Programme
Canaletto - The Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice c. 1730
“Viva il caro Sassone!”, cried the Venetian audience on the
triumphant first night of Handel’s opera Agrippina at the Teatro
San Giovanni Grisostomo in 1709: “Long live the dear Saxon!”.
The young German composer (he was only twenty-four) was
already a celebrity, but the opera’s sensational score –
dynamic, lyrical and expressive, and bringing to life Cardinal
Vincenzo Grimani's sensuous, witty, satirical tale of political
rivalry and sexual obsession in Imperial Rome - established
Handel’s reputation as a master of Italian musical style and, in
effect, a new member of the great tradition of Italian
composers that went back to Monteverdi, Gabrieli and
beyond.
When he brought this inheritance to Britain a few years later
he was able to exploit the rapidly growing prosperity of the
rising imperial power, establish Italian opera as a prestigious
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cultural product in London, and become one of the richest and
most influential figures in British music. His friend Charles
Burney later summed up the impact of Handel’s personality in
a famous account that attributed to him a god-like energy and
volatility, pagan rather than Christian: “He was impetuous,
rough and peremptory in his manners and conversation, but
devoid of ill-nature or malevolence”; when he smiled “it was his
sire, the sun, bursting out of a black cloud. There was a sudden
flash of intelligence, wit, and good humour, beaming in his
countenance”; and Mozart, commenting on Handel’s music,
compared him to the king of the gods himself: “when he
chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt”.
No wonder, then, that the great Domenico Scarlatti, who
allegedly once competed with Handel in a test of keyboard
technique, is said to have crossed himself in veneration when
speaking about his rival, and even the tempestuous
Beethoven acknowledged that he would kneel before
Handel’s tomb: “He is the master of us all”.
The twenty-two year old Handel arrived in Italy in 1707, at the
invitation of a member of the Medici family, and was quick to
make influential contacts (including Corelli and both
Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, father and son), displaying
his phenomenal skills and extending his prowess in every
aspect of music.
The fact that Pope Clement XI had banned opera in Rome,
believing it to stir up dangerous moral, social and even political
disorder, did not hamper the development of Handel’s gifts:
running parallel to this incendiary art-form was the ancient
tradition of sacred music, and the psalms of praise, rejoicing,
denunciation and entreaty, the dramatic characterisations
found in canticles such as the Magnificat, and the biblical
stories that could be recreated in cantatas and oratorios, in
many ways gave as wide a field for scrutiny of human
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emotions and relationships as did the operas. A longing for
love or forgiveness, warlike rivalry and jealousy, feelings of
tenderness, triumph, reconciliation, penitence – all were being
repeatedly dramatized and explored in Italian sacred music.
The works in tonight’s concert are superb examples of this.
Allegri’s famous Miserere is a touching meditation on (or rather,
a re-enactment of) grief, self-doubt and a hoped-for new
relationship with God, while the Pergolesi Magnificat is a brief
but brilliant “performance” of Mary’s reaction to the news that
she is to be the mother of Jesus. Giovanni Gabrieli’s Jubilate
Deo expresses the glorious confidence and gratitude of a citystate that believes that its prosperity and power are the result
of God’s favour as well as of its own energetic enterprise, and
Monteverdi’s Beatus vir sets out a programme for individual
happiness framed by the same unhesitating values: be faithful,
be virtuous, help others, lend freely and let the wicked grind
their teeth in frustration when they see your success.
Long before he became GEORGE
FREDERICK HANDEL Esqr., as he
is called on his magnificent
marble monument in Westminster
Abbey, grasping a score of I know
that my Redeemer liveth that
would
probably
weigh
a
hundredweight or two if the statue
ever came to life and lifted it
down, the young Handel in Italy deft, irrepressible, a musical
athlete
bursting
with
selfconfidence and hope - set Dixit
Dominus, one of the most
astonishingly
violent
Psalms,
dramatizing God’s wrath against
his enemies - and he did so for
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glamorous, dangerous Italy – the Italy that loved him. His
music in that work has as much menace, flourishing
sensuousness and compelling intensity as even Agrippina,
Nero or any of those earlier, native-born Romans could have
conceived of, and in at least one movement it reveals the
humanity and tragic awareness that one day would mark
Handel’s profoundest insights and achievements.
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. Thank you.
Miserere mei
Gregorio Allegri (1582 – 1652)
Allegri’s famous Miserere has had a
curious history, and its enthralling
beauty emerges from a mass of
myths and misinterpretations that
has been patiently disentangled
over the last fifty years (there is a
cheerfully informative video on
YouTube, How Allegri’s Miserere
should really sound, that gives an
outline of the key points).
One of the strangest facts about
the work is that its most famous
feature, the soaring soprano line that rises repeatedly to a high
C with thrilling effect, is the result of a transcription error made
in the late nineteenth century and based on notes that Felix
Mendelssohn made after hearing it performed in 1831, yet it is
almost impossible for the work to be heard without it – it has
become part of the performing tradition, beautiful in its own
terms.
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5
The penitential Psalm 51, praying for God’s mercy on the sinner
and performed in Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel, was set by
Allegri, probably in 1638, in a consciously old-fashioned style
and to be sung in almost total darkness. This must have
enhanced its absorbing combination of gravity, tenderness and
exaltation.
Its long-standing reputation for mystery and exclusiveness
was strengthened by some poorly-evidenced stories: a papal
threat of excommunication if it were copied down (no
evidence of such a ban); fourteen year-old Mozart
demonstrating his genius by memorising it (it has been pointed
out that it could be straightforwardly memorised by a skilful
and methodical enthusiast, given its repetitive structure and
that its musical materials and embellishments were to a great
extent common currency in the eighteenth century) – and so
on.
Its real power comes from its careful arrangement of traditional
elements, the moving simplicity and directness of a cappella
(unaccompanied) performance, and the dramatic contrasts of
musical texture that are built into the structure of the work.
The verses of the psalm are sung alternately, first in plainchant
(men’s voices in unison), then in richly harmonised settings that
include upper voices. Within this overall structure there is a
further element of alternation: the first harmonised verse is
sung by a five-part chorus, singing homophonically (the
harmonies changing regularly together), then the next one
uses four soloists singing more independent lines and
elaborating the music with the celebrated abbellimenti
(“beautifications”) that decorate the vocal line – and throughout
the performance the plainchant returns to “anchor” the
experience and focus the minds of listeners on the austere,
timeless progress of the psalm.
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At the end the chorus and soloists come together to sing of
how God will accept the offered sacrifice of his worshippers,
and the voices that have repeatedly risen as if yearning for
forgiveness finish on a beautiful major chord.
Miserere mei, Deus: secundum
magnam misericordiam tuam.
Have mercy upon me, O
God: after Thy great
goodness.
Et secundum multitudinem
miserationum tuarum, dele
iniquitatem meam.
According to the multitude of
Thy mercies, do away mine
offences.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate
mea: et a peccato meo munda
me.
Wash me throughly from my
wickedness: and cleanse me
from my sin.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam
ego cognosco: et peccatum
meum contra me est semper.
For I acknowledge my faults:
and my sin is ever before me.
Tibi soli peccavi, et malum
coram te feci: ut justificeris in
sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum
judicaris.
Against Thee only have I
sinned, and done this evil in
thy sight: that Thou mightest
be justified in Thy saying, and
clear when Thou art judged.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus
conceptus sum: et in peccatis
concepit me mater mea.
Behold, I was shapen in
wickedness: and in sin hath
my mother conceived me.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti:
incerta et occulta sapientiae
tuae manifestasti mihi.
But lo, Thou requirest truth in
the inward parts: and shalt
make me to understand
wisdom secretly.
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Asperges me hysopo, et
Thou shalt purge me with
mundabor: lavabis me, et super hyssop, and I shall be clean:
nivem dealbabor.
Thou shalt wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow.
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et
laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa
humiliata.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy
and gladness: that the bones
which Thou hast broken may
rejoice.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis Turn Thy face from my sins:
meis: et omnes iniquitates meas and put out all my misdeeds.
dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus:
et spiritum rectum innova in
visceribus meis.
Make me a clean heart, O God:
and renew a right spirit within
me.
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et
spiritum sanctum tuum ne
auferas a me.
Cast me not away from Thy
presence: and take not Thy
Holy Spirit from me.
Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris
Give me the comfort of Thy
tui: et spiritu principali confirma help again: and stablish me
me.
with Thy free Spirit.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et
impii ad te convertentur.
Then shall I teach Thy ways
unto the wicked: and sinners
shall be converted unto Thee.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deliver me from bloodDeus salutis meae: et exsultabit guiltiness, O God, Thou that art
lingua mea justitiam tuam.
the God of my health: and my
tongue shall sing of Thy
righteousness.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et
os meum annuntiabit laudem
tuam.
8
Thou shalt open my lips, O
Lord: and my mouth shall show
Thy praise.
Vivace Chorus
Quoniam si voluisses
sacrificium, dedissem utique:
holocaustis non delectaberis.
For Thou desirest no sacrifice,
else would I give it Thee: but
Thou delightest not in burntofferings.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus
contribulatus: cor contritum, et
humiliatum, Deus, non
despicies.
The sacrifice of God is a
troubled spirit: a broken and
contrite heart, O God, shalt
Thou not despise.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona
voluntate tua Sion: ut
aedificentur muri Ierusalem.
Be favourable and gracious
unto Sion: build Thou the
walls of Jerusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium
justitiae, oblationes, et
holocausta: tunc imponent
super altare tuum vitulos.
Then shalt Thou be pleased
with the sacrifice of
righteousness, with the burntofferings and oblations: then
shall they offer young
bullocks upon Thine altar.
Magnificat
Giovanni Pergolesi (1710 -1736) /
Francesco Durante (1684 1755)
Like the Allegri Miserere, the “Pergolesi” Magnificat has had a
disputed history, and it is now generally agreed by music
scholars that it was composed by Pergolesi’s teacher,
Francesco Durante, who had been a pupil of Alessandro
Scarlatti in Naples. Twenty-one early sources attribute it to
Durante, and it was accepted as his work throughout the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but one manuscript copy
bears Pergolesi’s name, and it was ascribed to him in 1910, then
included in a 1942 edition of his work (an edition described by
one authority as “notoriously unreliable”).
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9
by Pergolesi ...
or Durante?
Pergolesi died young at twenty-six, and he has arguably a
more radical importance in the history of music: for example,
his innovatory intermezzo-opera La serva padrona was an early
work in the tradition of Italian comic opera that led to Mozart
and Rossini, so he became a more conventionally “interesting”,
even “romantic” figure.
Durante’s “delightful, sunlit piece”, as John Rutter calls the
Magnificat, embodies something else that is distinctive: the
dolcezza that in Italian implies elegance and confidence
combined with “sweetness”, and makes the work touching as
well as stimulating, and one in which a genuine musical
portrait of Mary is created.
Each of the six movements, however brief, has a distinct
character, and they are beautifully contrasted as they
illuminate the details of the text. The first movement,
Magnificat, is built on an ancient Gregorian chant melody,
stated in turn by each vocal part while the others elaborate it in
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sensationally agile leaps and runs that express Mary’s joy; then
the music changes pace and structure in order to represent
her humility and the decisive power of God.
The Misericordia duet for soprano and mezzo (“And his mercy”)
is heartfelt and serious in mood, and when the chorus make
their forceful entrance at Fecit potentiam (“He hath showed
strength”), the bass line topples rapidly down the stave as God
scatters the proud “in the imagination of their hearts” – a
simple but effective moment of drama.
The third section, Deposuit potentes (“He hath put down the
mighty”), moves with increasing forcefulness as the choral
entries imitate each other and build to a strong concerted
finish.
The bass and tenor duet follows, a lovely moment of lyricism
at the heart of the work, its delicately interweaving lines
dramatizing the tender, supportive father / son relationship
(Suscepit Israel) between God and his “son”, the whole nation of
Israel.
The fifth movement, Sicut locutus est (“As He promised”), is
marked maestoso, “majestically”, and leads directly into the
expansive Gloria. This comes across almost as a direct
comment on the lively characterisation of Mary that has been
created – delightedly thanking God for her beauty, modesty
and vitality.
The finale, Sicut erat in principio (“As it was in the beginning”)
follows Baroque convention in repeating the material of the
first movement, with variations, and so it embodies a familiar,
devout musical witticism – it really is “as it was in the
beginning” – and the canticle ends with a cheerfully
triumphant sense of closure.
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I Magnificat
Chorus
Magnificat anima mea
Dominum. Et exultavit spiritus
meus: in Deo salutari meo.
My soul doth magnify the
Lord: and my spirit hath
rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Quia respexit humilitatem
ancillae suae:
For he hath regarded the
lowliness of his handmaiden.
Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me
dicent omnes generationes.
For behold, from henceforth:
all generations shall call me
blessed.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui
potens est: et sanctum nomen
eius.
For he that is mighty hath
magnified me: and holy is his
Name.
II Et misericordia
Soprano and Alto soli, Chorus
Et misericordia eius in
progenies et progenies
timentibus eum.
And his mercy is on them that
fear him: throughout all
generations.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo:
dispersit superbos mente cordis
sui.
He hath shewed strength with
his arm: he hath scattered the
proud in the imagination of
their hearts.
III Deposuit potentes
Chorus
Deposuit potentes de sede: et
exaltavit humiles.
He hath put down the mighty
from their seat: and hath
exalted the humble and
meek.
Esurientes implevit bonis: et
divites dimisit inanes.
He hath filled the hungry with
good things: and the rich he
hath sent empty away.
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IV Suscepit Israel
Tenor and Bass Duet
Suscepit Israel puerum suum:
recordatus misericordiae suae.
He remembering his mercy
hath holpen his servant Israel :
V Sicut locutus est
Chorus
Sicut locutus est ad patres
nostros: Abraham, et semini
eius in saecula.
As he promised to our
forefathers, Abraham and his
seed for ever.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui
Sancto;
Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son: and to the Holy
Ghost;
VI Sicut erat in principio
Chorus
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc,
et semper, et in sæcula
sæculorum. Amen
As it was in the beginning, is
now, and ever shall be :world
without end. Amen.
Jubilate Deo
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557? – 1612)
“… so good, so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so superexcellent, that it did even ravish and stupifie all those strangers
that never heard the like”, was the Devonshire traveller Thomas
Coryat’s comment on hearing Gabrieli directing the music at
the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice in 1608.
Gabrieli had been composing for the confraternity of San
Rocco (a charitable guild dedicated to mutual help and public
service), and for the great Basilica of San Marco, since the
1580s, and his career overlapped with that of the extraordinary
Mannerist painter Tintoretto, whose work covered the walls of
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13
the Scuola, headquarters of the
confraternity, and had the same
flamboyant
energy,
dramatic
effects of light and shade,
muscularity and command of
extravagant
but
disciplined
gesture as Gabrieli used to
“stupifie” his audiences. The
combination on that occasion
must have been overwhelming.
Jubilate Deo was not published
until after Gabrieli’s death, and it is
not dated, but it is likely that it belongs to the period after 1605
when reductions in funding at San Marco meant that the
complex polychoral works for which he was famous, with
singers and instrumentalists positioned around the great
church to produce carefully calculated effects, had to be cut
back.
It is in the form of a litany, made up of texts from the Psalms
that are intended to help the listeners to confirm their faith by
focusing on profound, simple truths: God loves us and will
bless us if we revere and obey him; unity, under the protection
and guidance of God, will bring peace and prosperity; God
helps those who rejoice in his goodness; willing service is the
path of virtue.
A single verse with a theme of marriage, taken from the Book
of Tobit, suggests that Jubilate Deo may have been composed
for the Sposalizio del Mare, the annual Marriage to the Sea,
when the Doge travelled to the Lido in his vast gilded barge,
the Bucintoro, and cast a golden ring into the Adriatic,
symbolically confirming the relationship between Venice’s
sea-power and the republic’s commanding position as a
trading empire.
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The music’s miraculous structure, with eight vocal parts
combining, dividing, echoing and pursuing each other,
endlessly complex yet transparent, until they come together in
glorious harmony at the end on the word laetitia, “joy”, would in
that case be a magnificent celebration of the city’s unity-indiversity, as well as of the turbulent fertility of the sea itself.
Jubilate Deo omnis terra, quia
sic benedicetur homo qui
timet Dominum.
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye
lands, for thus shall the man
be blessed that feareth the
Lord.
Jubilate Deo omnis terra,
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye
lands.
Deus Israel conjungat vos et
ipse sit vobiscum,
May the God of Israel unite
you and himself be with you.
Mittat vobis auxilium de
sancto, et de Sion tueatur vos.
May he send thee help from
the sanctuary, and strengthen
thee out of Sion.
Jubilate Deo omnis terra,
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye
lands
Benedicat vobis Dominus ex
Sion, qui fecit caelum et
terram.
The Lord that made heaven
and earth give thee blessing
out of Sion.
Jubilate Deo omnis terra
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye
lands.
Servite Domino in laetitia!
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Vivace Chorus
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Beatus vir
Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643)
Monteverdi’s motet Beatus vir was
published in 1641, but was probably
written some ten years earlier. The
title of the collection of his sacred
music in which it appeared is Selva
Morale e Spirituale, “The Moral and
Spiritual Forest”, and the metaphor of
a forest not only implies a disciplined
and productive space – seventeenth
century
forests
were
strictly
managed for hunting, stock-rearing
and the controlled exploitation of natural resources – but also
suggests a place of luxuriance, mystery and transformation
(Shakespeare explored this in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As
You Like It and elsewhere).
The variety and profusion of Monteverdi’s collection is preechoed in words sung by Musica, a character personifying his
art, at the beginning of his opera Orfeo: she says that she can
“inflame the coldest minds, sometimes with love, sometimes
with noble anger … charm the ears of mortals, and make their
souls aspire towards the resounding harmony of Heaven”.
This profusion and potential for transformation is illustrated in
the structure and the theme of Beatus vir: The six vocal lines
interweave, then divide into brief duets, trios or quartets, then
re-form in different combinations or come together in
outbursts of splendour for the whole chorus.
The moral aim of the motet also involves transformation. The
text of Psalm 112 conveys energetic approval of virtue in
action, listing and bringing to life the deeds that make a man a
force for good as well as bringing blessings on him: giving and
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lending, remaining stalwart in bad times and generous in
prosperity, showing compassion, lighting up the world while
despising the wicked. Meanwhile, throughout the piece, the
phrase that defines him as favoured by God is sung over and
over again - Beatus Vir, “That man is blessed” – and urges us all
to become like that man.
There is an element of transformation in the violin melody too.
It comes from Monteverdi’s love-duet, Chiome d’oro, in his
seventh book of madrigals. Now, with its beautiful dancerhythm, the same melody helps to maintain the captivating
liveliness of the sacred-and-moral motet, underpinned by the
steady progress of the repeated “ground bass” that propels the
piece towards the grand concerted Gloria at the end.
Beatus, beatus vir, beatus vir, qui
timet Dominum: in mandatis eius
volet nimis.
Blessed is the man that feareth
the Lord: he hath great delight in
his commandments.
Beatus, beatus vir,
Blessed is the man
Potens in terra erit semen eius;
Generatio rectorum benedicetur.
His seed shall be mighty upon
earth: the generation of the
faithful shall be blessed.
Beatus, beatus vir,
Blessed is the man
Gloria et divitiae in domo eius; et
justitia eius manet in saeculum
saeculi.
Riches and plenteousness shall
be in his house: and his
righteousness endureth for ever.
Beatus, beatus vir,
Blessed is the man
Exortum est in tenebris lumen
rectis: misericors, et miserator et
justus.
Unto the godly there ariseth up
light in the darkness: he is
merciful, loving, and righteous.
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17
Beatus, beatus vir, beatus vir, qui
timet Dominum
Blessed is the man that feareth
the Lord:
Jucundus homo qui miseretur et
commodat: disponet sermones
suos in judicio:
Quia in aeternum non
commovebitur: In memoria
aeterna erit justus.
A good man is merciful, and
lendeth: and will guide his words
with discretion.
For he shall never be moved:
and the righteous shall be had in
everlasting remembrance.
Ab auditione mala non timebit.
Paratum cor eius sperare in
Domino;
He will not be afraid of any evil
tidings: for his heart standeth
fast, and believeth in the Lord.
Confirmatum est, cor eius: Non
commovebitur, Donec despiciat
inimicos suos.
His heart is established, and will
not shrink: until he see his desire
upon his enemies.
Dispersit, dedit pauperibus:
Justitia eius manet in saeculum
saeculi, Cornu eius exaltabitur in
gloria.
He hath dispersed abroad, and
given to the poor: and his
righteousness remaineth for
ever; his horn shall be exalted
with honour.
Beatus, beatus vir, beatus vir, qui
timet Dominum
Blessed is the man that feareth
the Lord:
Peccator videbit, et irascetur;
Dentibus suis fremet et tabescet.
Desiderium peccatorum peribit.
The ungodly shall see it, and it
shall grieve him: he shall gnash
with his teeth, and consume
away; the desire of the ungodly
shall perish.
Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum.
Blessed is the man that feareth
the Lord:
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Glória Patri, gloria, et Fílio, gloria
et Spirítui Sancto,
Glory be to the Father, and to the
Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
Gloria sicut erat in princípio,
gloria et nunc, et semper, gloria
et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be: world without
end. Amen.
Interval (20 minutes)
Vivace Chorus is proud to support the work of Tom's Trust.
John ap Rhys Pryce will give a short talk about the charity after the
interval, and there will be a bucket collection at the end of the concert
in aid of its work to combat knife crime.
Tom’s Trust
Please help London’s disadvantaged children and young
people by supporting
The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust
Read about Tom and the Trust’s work in helping to combat knife crime, by
visiting our website: www.tomaprhyspryce.com
justgiving.com/tomaprhys
easyfundraising.org.uk
giveasyoulive.com
(this advert has been donated by friends of Tom’s Trust)
Chamber Choir
LAUDAMUS CHAMBER CHOIR
TICKETS: £14 | STUDENTS; £7 | UNDER 16S: FREE
SATURDAY
17TH
JUNE
2023,
7.00PM
TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH, BREWERY ROAD, WOKING,; GU21.4LH
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM WWW.LAUDAMUSCHAMBERCHOIR.ORG.UK
Surrey Mozart Players
Musicfor a Summer Evening
Saturday 24" June 2023, 7.30 pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
Sibelius - Pélleas et Mélisande
Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Solo Violin: Annmarie McDade
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 4
Conductor: Philip Ellis
Tickets: £21, 21s and under £5
Available at
www.surreymozartplayers.com
'Best of Broadway' concert, March 2022
Photo © Ben Potton
Dixit Dominus
George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759)
Dixit Dominus is thought to have been
performed in the Church of Santa Maria
in Montesanto, Rome, in 1707, and was
possibly commissioned by the Colonna
family, one of whose members had been
made a cardinal the previous year. The
text of the psalm, seen as complex and
in parts obscure by biblical scholars, is
treated by Handel as a rousing account
of God’s uncompromising support,
political, military and moral, for King
David (“my Lord”, to whom “the Lord” spoke), and by extension,
prophetically, for the Messiah (who for eighteenth century
Christians is, of course, Jesus, who will at the end of time have
all of his enemies at his feet).
The work is divided into nine sections, corresponding to the
eight verses of the psalm and the Gloria at the end, and the
character of the music is overwhelmingly militant and fierce,
with some beautiful episodes in a gentler manner even when
the theme remains one of conquest and power.
The opening chorus, introduced by violent downward
arpeggios and the repeated word Dixit, “He said”, used as a kind
of musical dagger against God’s enemies, has a ferocious
energy that is reinforced by the cantus firmus, the ancient
plainchant melody first stated by the sopranos at Donec ponam
(“Until I place in subjection”), then taken up by the other voices
in turn and woven through the elaborate patterns of threats
and promises that define this extraordinary music.
Handel is showing off his brilliant command of complex
counterpoint, and the difficulty of the score is a deliberate
challenge to both performers and listeners.
22
Vivace Chorus
The second and third sections, Virgam virtutis (“The rod of thy
strength”) and Tecum principium (“The day of thy power”) show
David / the Messiah settled on his throne, confident in his
authority, with eloquent, propulsive melodies to express a
mood of conscious nobility. The beautiful triplets and dancing
¾ time of the third movement have an immediately
recognisable Handelian delicacy and fluency.
The mood soon becomes more aggressive in the next
movement, Juravit Dominus – the Lord has sworn, making
grand declarations of his power followed by tempestuous
assertions that he will not change his mind, as if exasperated
by the very thought of doing so.
The next three sections are extraordinary – a kind of
compressed battle scene, with first a warrant for action – Tu es
sacerdos (“Thou art a priest for ever”) – in which a mysterious
priest-king of Salem in the Book of Genesis, who brought
bread and wine as a tribute to Abraham, is seen as
guaranteeing the rights of conquest for both David and his
descendant Jesus.
The confident fugal entries of the chorus, and their excited
chatter about the endless line of authority that is being
granted, have an energy that it would be dangerous to
oppose.
The soloists launch the next scene, as if flying to the
battlefield – Dominus a dextris tuis (“The Lord at thy right
hand”): here God himself is a prompt ally in battle, ready to
“break” – confregere – the enemy in the day of his wrath.
Finally, in the seventh movement and the last scene of battle,
Judicabit in nationibus ("He will judge among the heathen”),
destruction is allotted to the enemy in broad, doom-laden
phrases, and there follows a massacre that fills the ruins with
bodies as complex vocal lines once again chase and entangle
Vivace Chorus
23
with each other. Surely one of the most chilling moments in
the score comes when the music pauses, draws breath, then
moves brutally on to trample on the dying in a series of
crushing chords, horribly unstoppable and prolonged, and the
word conquassabit, “He will shake to pieces”, itself breaks
apart into what could even be interpreted as merciless
laughter: Conquas - sa - a - a – a - a - a – a – a –a – bit.
Handel was so pleased with this effect that years later he used
it again for another biblical battle scene, in an anthem that he
composed for the Duke of Chandos, Paymaster for Queen
Anne’s Forces Abroad.
The eighth movement, De torrente in via bibet (“He shall drink
from the brook in the way”) is another moment of calm, with a
softly pacing accompaniment, touchingly resembling a
moment in Vivaldi’s Winter in The Four Seasons, while an
unspecified “he” refreshes himself. Biblical experts say that this
may refer to the warrior after battle, the Messiah strengthened
by God’s grace, or Jesus drinking the cup of suffering – no-one
knows for certain.
The heart-rending lines of the singers rise sadly above, as if,
after the passages of fury and brutality, Handel is now
composing a lament for the suffering of all humanity. The
twenty-two year old can be heard reaching forward to touch
the sound-world of his greatest future work.
The Italian commission must end, however, with the expected
splendour, and “il caro Sassone” supplies it, with even more
exhilarating and astonishing vocal leaps and runs, and a
sensationally complex and triumphant fugue.
All programme notes © Jon Long 2023
24
Vivace Chorus
I Dixit Dominus
Chorus
Dixit Dominus Domino meo:
Sede a dextris meis, donec
ponam inimicos tuos
scabellum pedum tuorum.
The Lord said unto my Lord:
Sit thou on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies
thy foot-stool.
II Virgam virtutis
Alto solo
Virgam virtutis tuae emittet
Dominus ex Sion: dominare in
medio inimicorum tuorum.
The Lord shall send the rod
of thy power out of Sion: be
thou ruler, even in the midst
among thine enemies.
III Tecum principium
Soprano solo
Tecum principium in die
virtutis tuae splendoribus
sanctorum. Ex utero ante
luciferum genui te.
In the day of thy power shall
the people offer thee freewill offerings with an holy
worship. From the womb
before the morning star have
I begotten thee.
IV Juravit Dominus
Chorus
Juravit Dominus et non
paenitebit eum:
The Lord swore, and will not
repent:
V Tu es sacerdos
Chorus
Tu es sacerdos in aeternum
secundum ordinem
Melchisedech.
Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of
Melchisedech.
VI Dominus a dextris tuis
Soli and Chorus
Dominus a dextris tuis,
confregit in die irae suae
reges.
The Lord upon thy right
hand, shall wound even
kings in the day of his wrath.
Vivace Chorus
25
VII Judicabit in nationibus
Chorus
Judicabit in nationibus,
Implebit ruinas, conquassabit
capita in terra multorum.
He shall judge the nations, fill
the places with destruction,
and shatter the skulls in the
land of the many.
VIII De torrente in via bibet
Soli and Chorus
De torrente in via bibet,
propterea exaltabit caput.
He shall drink of the brook in
the way, therefore shall he lift
up his head.
IX Gloria Patri
Chorus
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui
Sancto. Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc, et semper, et in
saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit. As it was in the
beginning, is now; and ever
shall be, world without end.
Amen.
End
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26
Vivace Chorus
Sofia Kirwan-Baez
Soprano
Anglo-Venezuelan
soprano
Sofia Kirwan-Baez began vocal
tuition at 16 in France.
Since then, operatic roles have
included Fire (Ravel, L’enfant et
les Sortilèges), Elle (Poulenc, La
Voix
Humaine),
Eurydice
(Offenbach, Orpheus in the
Underworld), Adina (Donizetti,
Photo © Broadway Studios
L’elisir
d’amore),
Venus
(Gagliano, La Dafne), Juno (Purcell, The Fairy-Queen),
Papagena (Mozart, The Magic Flute) and creations by Marco
Galvani and Toby Young.
Other solo work comprises Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (in a
staged production), Mahler’s
Symphony No. 4, and
Monteverdi’s Vespers. Sofia holds a Music Bachelor’s degree
(Oxford University). Rotary International supported her Master’s
degree (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama).
A 2021 winner of the Royal College of Music’s Concerto
Competition, Sofia is currently a Sybil Tutton Opera Award
Holder and Huffner Scholar, supported by the Sir Gordon
Palmer Scholarship. She will be performing as Adina &
Gianetta in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore with Wild Arts this
Summer.
All tonight's soloists have been sponsored by the
Josephine Baker Trust. Vivace Chorus would like to thank
the Trust for their generous support of these young artists.
Vivace Chorus
27
Emilia Bertolini
Soprano
Emilia Bertolini is an Australian
soprano of Irish and Italian
heritage currently undertaking
a Master of Arts (vocal) at the
Royal Academy of Music, where
she is the recipient of the Julien
Scholarship, and studies with
Nuccia Focile and James
Baillieu.
Emilia is supported by the
Josephine Baker Trust, and is a
Photo © Dan Nunan
proud member of both the
Academy’s Song Circle and Bach series. This year, Emilia
joined the choir of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
for performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor in London and in
Poland, and is looking forward to returning to the Ryedale
Festival to perform the role of Cupid in John Blow’s Venus and
Adonis.
In 2022, Emilia made her debut at Wigmore Hall where she
performed the world premiere of Alexander Goehr’s Combat
of Joseph della Reina and the Devil with the Nash Ensemble.
Other highlights for this year included singing as the soprano
soloist in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem,
Haydn’s Nelson Mass and The Creation, taking part in several
of the Academy’s Bach concerts, performing the role of Gretel
from Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel in the Royal Academy
of Music Vocal Faculty scenes, singing the premiere of Duncan
Fraser’s Be Loved: A Passion at St James’s Piccadilly, and
performing the role of Corydon in the Ryedale Festival
production of Handel's Acis and Galatea.
28
Vivace Chorus
Lexie Moon
Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Lexie Moon is a
postgraduate student at the Royal
College of Music in London,
studying with Professor and Chair
of Vocal Performance Janis Kelly.
She is the recipient of the London
Women’s
Clinic
Foundation
Scholarship and is generously
supported by the Countess of
Photo © Olivia Da Costa
Munster Trust and the Josephine
Baker Trust. She most recently debuted for British Youth Opera
at Opera Holland Park as Mistress Ford in Vaughan Williams’ Sir
John in Love to mark his 150th anniversary, and made her
principal operatic debut as the Older Woman in the RCM Opera
Studio’s summer production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight. She has
also appeared in masterclasses with Dame Sara Connolly and
Nicky Spence. Lexie made her professional stage debut in 2019
at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in collaboration with the
English National Opera in their production of Benjamin Britten’s
Noye’s Fludde, starring in the 'Gossips' ensemble.
Recent competition successes in 2022 include 1st prize and
Best Undergraduate Performance in the Brooks-van der Pump
English Song Competition at the RCM, 2nd prize in the
Somerset Song Prize and 3rd prize in the RCM’s Joan Chissell
Schumann Competition.
Concert highlights include Mendelssohn Elijah (Broadstone
Choir); Rossini Petite Messe Solenelle (Grantham Choral Society);
Beethoven Symphony no. 9 (Vivace Chorus) and Vivaldi Gloria
(Christchurch Choral Society).
Forthcoming projects include a joint recital for the London
Song Festival and another joint lecture recital for the Oxford
Lieder Festival.
Vivace Chorus
29
Dafydd Jones
Tenor
Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones recently
made his international debut as
Clotarco in Haydn’s Armida at the
Bregenzer Festspiele. During the 2022
season, he also made his debut as
Pastore in John Caird’s highly
acclaimed production of Monteverdi’s
L’Orfeo for Garsington Opera as an
Alvarez Young Artist.
Other operatic roles include the title
role in Orpheus in the Underworld, Il
Principe in La Bella dormente nel
Photo © Julian Guidera
Bosco, L’Arithmétique & La Rainette in
L’Enfant et les sortilèges (RCM Opera Studio) and Don Ottavio in
Don Giovanni (OPRA Cymru).
Dafydd was recipient of the Prix Thierry Mermod at the Verbier
Festival as member of their 2019 Academy Atelier Lyrique.
Other accolades include winning the prestigious Osborne
Roberts Memorial Prize – The Blue Riband – at the 2019
National Eisteddfod of Wales.
Currently studying for his Master's degree under the tuition of
Nicky Spence and Caroline Dowdle at the RCM, he is
generously supported as an Ivor Llewellyn Foster scholar, and
by a Leverhulme Trust Arts Scholarship. He is also supported
by the Munster Trust, Ryan Davies Memorial Trust, Josephine
Baker Trust and is the most recent recipient of the Opera
Europa Eva Kleinitz Scholarship.
Upcoming engagements see him in the title role in Barnum’s
Bird for the RCM Opera Studio and a recital at the Wigmore
Hall as part of their French Song Exchange Programme in
September.
30
Vivace Chorus
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Daniel Barrett
Baritone
Daniel Barrett is a baritone aged 24
from Glasgow, who is currently in
the 2nd year of a Master’s course at
the Royal College of Music, and
studies with Russell Smythe. Daniel
is delighted to be a Drapers' de
Turckheim Scholar and a Drake
Calleja Trust Scholar, and is also an
associate artist with the Josephine
Baker Trust, and a Samling Artist.
His achievements include: the
Molly Robb Award (2018), 2nd place
Photo © Gerard Collett
in the Leonie Kayser Song
Competition, winner in the Hugh S Robertson Memorial Award
for Scots Song (2018/19), highly commended in the Elgar
Spedding Memorial Lieder Competition (2021), and he was one
of 4 finalists in the Governer’s Recital Prize (2021). In January
2022 Daniel won 1st Prize at the RCM’s Lieder Competition,
claiming the Ted Moss and Bertha Taylor-Sach Prize. He most
recently claimed 3rd Prize in RCM’s Brooks-van der Pump
English Song competition 2022.
Since moving to London in September 2021, Daniel’s most
notable engagement has been to sing the baritone solo in
Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, performed by the RCM
Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Thomas
Zehetmair. Daniel was delighted to be an Atelier Lyrique singer
at the Verbier Festival, where he was involved in numerous
masterclasses with world-renowned artists. He also played the
role of Sam in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera on the Verbier
Festival main stage, alongside a stellar cast including current
Royal Opera House artist Freddie de Tommaso, under the
baton of Gianandrea Noseda.
32
Vivace Chorus
Hennessy Brown Music Chamber Orchestra
Jonny founded Hennessey Brown Music
with Cressida Wislocki in September
2019. He believes passionately in
creating opportunities for musicians of
all beliefs, ages, genders identities, and
socio-economic backgrounds. He is a
long term campaigner for mental health
awareness and has raised thousands of
pounds for mental health charities
through the Hennessey Brown Music
Concert Series.
Hennessey Brown Music fixes orchestras for concerts and
recordings. Its roster of artists includes Emma Johnson, Raphael
Wallfisch, the Queen's Six and Dominique Le Gendre, who was
the first ever composer in residence at the Royal Opera House.
First Violin
Sophie Langdon*
Malcolm Allison+
Jon Truscott
Ralph Broadbent
Second Violin
Sophie Durant*
Dave Williams+
Gill Austin
Catherine Lett
First Viola
Rob Spriggs#
Oakki Lau!
Vivace Chorus
Second Viola
Sophie Sirota
Emily Frith
Cello
Lou Dearsley#
Jonathan Hennessey-Brown!
Double Bass
Daniil Margulis
Organ continuo
George Castle
* = Leader
+ = Co-Leader
# = Principal
! = Co-Principal
33
Jeremy Backhouse
Conductor
Jeremy Backhouse is one of Britain’s
leading choral conductors. He began his
musical career in Canterbury Cathedral
where he was Senior Chorister.
Jeremy has been the sole conductor of the
internationally-renowned chamber choir,
Vasari Singers, since its inception in 1980.
Since winning the prestigious Choir of the
Year competition in 1988, the Vasari
Singers has performed regularly at major
concert venues and cathedrals throughout
the UK and abroad. Jeremy and the Vasari
Singers broadcast frequently on Classic
FM and BBC Radio 3 and have a
Photo © Ash Mills
discography of over 25 CDs on EMI, Guild,
Signum and Naxos. Their recordings have been nominated for a
Gramophone award, received two Gramophone Editor’s Choice
awards, the top recommendation on Radio 3’s "Building A Library"
and two recent CDs both achieved Top Ten status in the Specialist
Classical Charts. He is totally committed to the performance of
contemporary music and, with Vasari, he has commissioned over 25
new works.
In January 1995 Jeremy was appointed Music Director of the Vivace
Chorus. Alongside the standard classical works, Jeremy has
conducted the Vivace Chorus in some ambitious programmes
including Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater,
Mahler’s "Resurrection" Symphony, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and
Ivan the Terrible, then Mahler’s "Symphony of a Thousand" and Verdi’s
Requiem in the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra.
Until July 2022, Jeremy was also the Music Director of the Salisbury
Community Choir. In 2013 the choir celebrated its 21st Anniversary
with a concert in Salisbury Cathedral, premiering a speciallycommissioned work by Will Todd, The City Garden, which they toured
to Lincoln (2014) and Guildford (2015) cathedrals. A new work from
Alexander L'Estrange was premiered in Winchester Cathedral in
November 2018.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading
choirs, including the BBC Singers, the London Symphony Chorus,
the Philharmonia Chorus, and the Brighton Festival Chorus.
34
Vivace Chorus
About Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Francis Pott
Peter Norman
Music Director
Accompanist
Chairman
Vivace Chorus at the Royal Albert Hall, May 2014
Photo © Ash Mills
Vivace Chorus is a flourishing, ambitious and adventurous
choir based in Guildford, Surrey. We enjoy singing traditional
choral classics alongside the challenge of contemporary and
newly-commissioned music – there’s something for everyone
at Vivace!
The choir began in 1946 as the Guildford Philharmonic Choir
and was rebranded as Vivace Chorus in 2005. We have an
enviable reputation for performing first-class concerts across a
wide range of musical repertoire. Particular successes include
a sell-out performance in May 2011 of Mahler’s Symphony
No. 8, the "Symphony of a Thousand", at the Royal Albert Hall, a
highly acclaimed performance in November 2012 of Britten’s
War Requiem and another Royal Albert Hall success in May
2014 when we performed the Verdi Requiem. In 2017 we
celebrated our 70th birthday with the Philharmonia Orchestra
in the Royal Festival Hall and 2018 saw a sell-out performance
at G Live Guildford for our "Concert for Peace".
Vivace Chorus
35
Vivace thrives under the
exceptional leadership of this
evening’s conductor, Jeremy
Backhouse. Jeremy’s passion
for choral music and his sheer
enthusiasm for music-making
are evident at every rehearsal
and
performance.
He
is
supported by Francis Pott, who
is an academic and composer
of international repute and an
accomplished concert pianist –
who better to accompany our
rehearsals?
is
Photo © Ash Mills
During the pandemic, we made considerable efforts to keep
singing. Jeremy ran weekly Zoom sessions, Francis shared his
encyclopaedic knowledge of composers, and we put together
two online films and a virtual Christmas Concert, raising money
for the Mayor of Guildford’s chosen charity.
We had a very successful tour of northern Spain in June 2022
(postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic), adding to
our list of foreign trips, which have so far also included singing
in France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Baltic States.
We are always happy to welcome new members, so if you
would like to try us out, do come along to any of our regular
rehearsals on Monday evenings at 7.15 in the Guildford Baptist
Church, Millmead, Guildford.
Just contact our membership secretary Becky Kerby at
membership@vivacechorus.org or pay a visit to our website,
vivacechorus.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and
Twitter - @VivaceChorus.
36
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all patrons for their support.
Honorary Life Patrons
John Britten
James Garrow
John Trigg MBE
Life Patrons
Joy Hunter MBE
John and Jean Leston
Platinum Patrons
Roger & Sharon Brockway
Richard & Mary Broughton
Amanda Burn
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson CBE
Norman Carpenter
Andrea & Gunter Dombrowe
Rosemary & Michael Dudley
Geoffrey Forster
Susan & Cecil Hinton
Stephen Linton
John McLean OBE & Janet McLean
Ron & Christine Medlow
Lionel & Mary Moon
Peter Norman
Robin Privett
David & Linda Ross
Geoffrey Johns & Sheila Rowell
Catherine & Brian Shacklady
Prue & Derek Smith
Dennis & Marjory Stewart
Idris & Joan Thomas
Pam Usher
Rob and Susie Walker
Anthony J T Williams
Bill & June Windle
Maggie Woolcock
BECOME A VIVACE PATRON
If you have enjoyed this concert, why not become one of our patrons? We
have a loyal band of followers whose regular presence at our concerts is
greatly appreciated. With the valued help of our patrons, we are able to
perform a wide range of exciting music, with world-class, professional
musicians in venues such as G Live, Dorking Halls, the Royal Albert Hall
and the Royal Festival Hall. If you are interested, please contact Mary Moon
on 01372 468431 or email: patrons@vivacechorus.org.
Vivace Chorus
37
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANO
FIRST ALTO
Pauline Higgins
FIRST BASS
Sandra Adamson
Barbara Barklem
Lois McCabe
Phil Beastall
Mary Broughton
Jackie Bearman
Catherine Middleton Richard Broughton
Jo Haviland
Marion Blair
Val Morcom
Michael Dudley
Isobel Humphreys
Jane Brooks
Pamela Murrell
Brian John
Becky Kerby
Philippa Curtis
Sheila Rowell
Jeremy Johnson
Fran MacKay
Fiona Davidge
Jo Stokes
Jon Long
Suzie Maine
Valentina Faedi
Rosey Storey
Malcolm Munt
Sue Norton
Sheila Hodson
Pamela Usher
Chris Newbery
Robin Onslow
Lis Martin
Esther Van Rooyen
Robin Privett
Barbara Tansey
Charlotte Mathieson
June Windle
Andrew Skinner
Joan Thomas
Penny McLaren
Philip Stanford
Christine Medlow
FIRST TENOR
Rob Walker
SECOND SOPRANO
Rosalind Milton
Bob Bromham
Kieron Walsh
Jacqueline Alderton
Lilly Nicholson
Bob Cowell
Sarah Badger
Linda Ross
Andrea Dombrowe
SECOND BASS
Scarlett Close
Marjory Stewart
Rosie Jeffery
Peter Andrews
Ann Fuller
Julia Stubbs
Nick Manning
James Garrow
Isabel Mealor
Hilary Trigg
Martin Price
Stuart Gooch
Alex Nash
Maggie Woolcock
John Trigg
Chris Peters
Susie Walker
Phil Tudor
Alison Palmer
Gill Perkins
SECOND ALTO
Kate Peters
Evelyn Beastall
SECOND TENOR
Richard Wood
Mary Somerville
Mary Clayton
Simon Dillon
Valerie Thompson
Sheena Ewen
Geoff Johns
Olwyn Westwood
Valerie Garrow
Stephen Linton
Christine Wilks
Liz Hampshire
Charles Martin
Peter Norman
Jon Scott
38
Vivace Chorus
Saturdny17"J8eun.340pmSUtiMaerdyR’sfCohumc idrhngGfuol d
Vivace Chorus dates for your diary
A concert for Cherry Trees
Saturday 1st July 2023 7pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
In July we will be putting on a very special concert, raising money for
Cherry Trees – a local children's charity we’ve supported before. Join
us for some classic sacred choruses, including Handel's Zadok the
Priest, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, and selections from the
Verdi, Mozart and Fauré requiems. We will finish with Parry's I was
glad– a rousing way to end a summer evening's music-making.
Vivace's Victorian Parlour
Saturday 11th Nov. 2023 7:30pm
St Catherine's School, Bramley
You're invited to share an evening of musical delights - exactly as our
Victorian families might have performed in their parlours! You'll be
treated to oratorio choruses from Messiah and Elijah, part-songs
from Elgar and Gilbert & Sullivan, and madrigals including Orlando
Gibbons' The Silver Swan. All that, plus solos, piano duets and the
hugely popular Albert and the Lion poems. Join us in the comfortable,
modern theatre at St. Catherine's School, Bramley, for a light-hearted
evening that's bound to make you smile!
The Mayor of Guildford's Carol Concert
Sunday 10th December 2023 7:00 pm Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
One of the highlights of the Christmas season in Guildford is the
Mayor of Guildford's annual Carol Concert, in support of this year's
selected charity. As always, there will be your favourite audience
carols, plus a wonderful selection of traditional and contemporary
carols sung by the choir. With wine, soft drinks and mince pies in the
interval, this is the perfect way to start your countdown to Christmas.
Further details at vivacechorus.org
Printed by IMPRINT COLOUR LTD
Pegasus Court, North Lane, Aldershot GU12 4QP. Tel : 01252 330683
Vivace Chorus is a Registered Charity No. 1026337
40
Vivace Chorus
VIVACE’S
PARLOUR
Part Songs and Piano Duets
Recitations and Rhymes
SOLOS AND POPULAR CHORUSES
Conductor:
Jeremy Backhouse
Saturday
11 Nov 2023
at 7.30 pm
Vivace
St Catherine’s
School
Anniversary Halls,
Bramley
Tickets: £23, students and U18 £10, plus booking fee.
Book online: at vivacechorus.org
Season A5-2023.indd 9
02/05/2023 13:32
FUTURE CONCERTS
Would you
love to sing?
Are you commuting less? More
time to enjoy yourself? We
rehearse on Mondays at 7.15pm
in central Guildford. We’re an
active, friendly choir and apart
from singing locally we tour
abroad, have parties and a
walking group. We work hard
but we aim to enjoy ourselves.
Email: Becky membership@
vivacechorus.org to ensure that
we are ready to welcome you.
Italian Job-Programme.indd 1