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Jonathan Dove
Bless the Lord, O my soul
Seek Him that Maketh
the Seven Stars
Louis Vierne
Carillon de Westminster
(Organ Solo)
Arvo Part
Rihards Dubra
Eriks ESenvalds
Charles-Marie Widor
The Beatitudes
O Crux Ave
Trinity Te Deum
Sing!
(arr. David Willcocks)
Rebecca Leggett
Thomas NieBer
Mezzo-Soprano
Baritone
Jonathan Hennessey-Brown
Cello
George Castle
Organ
Vivace Chorus
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
Concert Programme
Bless the Lord, O my soul
.
Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)
Jonathan Dove's piece was written
for the Eton College Old Choristers'
Association to celebrate more than
five hundred years of “joyful praise
of Almighty God", and its text, the
first
four
verses
of
Psalm
104,
exploits the gift for drama that has
given
international success to
stage
works,
including
his
the
community opera The Monster in the
Maze
and
the
Glyndebourne
Photo © Marshall Light Studio ~ commission Flight.
The Psalm imagines God as a lord of the elements, arraying
himself in light and building a sky-palace whose walls are the
tent of stars and whose foundations are laid on the waters either the sea, or the eternal cataracts above that replenish
the
earth.
He
rides
on
the
clouds
as
a
chariot,
like
a
conquering king, and his servants are the air and the fire.
Dove
animates
the
text with
sensational energy,
skilfully
controlling pace and volume so that the description of the
‘flaming fire" and the shattering chord at the end have a
magnificent
cumulative
effect.
It
begins with
exhilarating
flourishes on the organ (“brilliant" is Dove's instruction in the
score) and ahs of wonder from the choir above an emphatic
accompaniment indicating God's ebullient power. Broad rising
phrases then bless the Lord while the organ seems to mark
time, urgently waiting for its next surge of activity.
The wonders of God's garment of light and his universe-wide
dwelling-place are conveyed in staggered choral entries and
2
Vivace Chorus
mysterious, radiant harmonies, then excitement rises in a series
of triplets until more brilliant flourishes propel the splendid
finale as God strides along on the wings of the wind and
launches his ministers of flame.
Ah, Bless the Lord, O my soul,
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,
Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain,
Who layest the beams of his chambers in the waters,
Who maketh the clouds his chariot,
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind,
Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire!
Carillon de Westminster
Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
(Organ solo)
Vierne was a man of heroic dedication
and
achievement.
Visually
impaired
from
birth,
he was taught
by César
Franck
at
the
Institut
Jeunes
Aveugles
Charles-Marie
Conservatoire,
in
National
Paris
Widor
and
at
des
by
the
becoming a dedicated
teacher and Widor's assistant at the
great Church of Saint-Sulpice. During
his thirty-seven year tenure at Notre
Dame de Paris he began the long and
difficult task of securing funding for,
and carrying through, the restoration of
the organ, as well as travelling widely to give recitals. He died
at the console in Notre Dame having almost completed his
1750th recital there, with his friend and colleague Maurice
Duruflé at his side.
Vivace Chorus
3
During his travels Vierne gave a recital on the Grand Organ at
Westminster
Cathedral,
a
mighty Willis
instrument
still
in
development in the biggest Roman Catholic church in Britain.
An
anecdote
hummed
says
the
that the
“changes’
organ-builder,
of
the
Henry Willis
quarter-bells
in
I,
the
parliamentary clock tower, with a slight mistake (easily made,
as the sequences are more complex than they seem despite
their
familiarity)
-
and
Vierne
improvised
on
them,
later
publishing the work as part of a set of pieces de fantaisie.
It has a characteristically French elegance and wit, with plenty
of opportunity for virtuosic display and a climax that builds to
an
extended
outpouring
of
unrestrained
and
confident
grandeur.
The Beatitudes
Arvo Part (b. 1935)
This stunningly beautiful setting of
the
opening
verses
of
Jesus's
Sermon on the Mount is one of
the
first
works
that
the
great
Estonian composer created to a
text in English. Written in 1990, the
year after the fall of the
Berlin
Wall, and revised in 1991, the year
of Estonia's formal declaration of
independence
collapsing
emerges
from
Soviet
in
all
the
Union,
its
it
clarity,
directness and emotional integrity from years of social and
artistic repression. Part grew up from the age of four under
Soviet control, met hostility to his interest in “foreign” musical
influences,
4
experienced
a
religious
conversion
from
Vivace Chorus
Lutheranism to Orthodox Christianity, and undertook a long
period of profound study of Gregorian chant and mediaseval
and Early Modern polyphony as part of major changes in his
musical language. From this multiplicity of explorations and
influences emerged a masterpiece of devotional music.
The music scholar and violinist Timothy Judd says of this work
that “mirroring the text, the music takes on the quality of a
meditative recitation”, focusing the mind on the moral and
spiritual meaning of Jesus's “blessings’ as the verses slowly
rise in pitch and volume in a series of spellbinding chromatic
shifts.
Between the verses, deep, subdued pedal notes on the organ
gravely mark out the progress from a harmonic “centre’ on F
minor to a glorious C# minor on the final "Amen” Biblical
commentators have shown that the Beatitudes signify more
than a promise of reward for virtuous behaviour: they are an
assurance that "blessedness"’ is an achieved state for those
who open their hearts to God and to mankind, and Part's piece
can be seen as enacting the contemplation of and the
progress towards this state.
As the voices end their transformative journey the organ bursts
in
dramatically
chords" (Meurig
with
“a
flurry
of
broken
quintuplet
Brown in a sleeve-note for the Hyperion
recording) that “rapidly hurls the music back down ..", so that it
ends in the tonality of F minor in which it began.
One commentator points out that this gives the music the
shape of an arch — maybe the great arc of spiritual authority on
which Part believes that Jesus's authority is built, or maybe an
image of the need to rise, with focus and discipline, again and
again into the transcendent world through the practice of
meditation. “Time has a deep meaning,’ he said, "but it is
temporary, like our lives. Only eternity is timeless”
Vivace Chorus
5
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn:
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful:
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peace makers:
For they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
And persecute you,
And shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
For great is your reward in heaven:
For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Amen
6
Vivace Chorus
O Crux Ave
Rihards Dubra (b. 1964)
Like Arvo Part, Rihards Dubra grew
up in a Baltic state - in his case
Latvia - under the control of the
Soviet Union, and therefore in a
culture that proscribed the open
expression
although
of
religious
faith,
Dubra was brought up
privately as a Roman Catholic by
his grandparents. Commenting on
the composer's
music
(which
is
exclusively sacred) Rupert Gough
links this experience of a deeply
personal faith,
combined with
B
a
Photo
© Latvian Music
need to avoid confrontation, to
Information Centre
Dubra’s fundamental enterprise: to find a way of taking his
listeners on an intimate and transformative spiritual journey.
Every aspect of his anthem O Crux Ave shows the imprint of
this: the choice of the a capella (unaccompanied) genre; its
brevity (ust over two
dynamic
(ppp.,
minutes
pianississimo);,
long) and the triple piano
the
emotional
containment
suggested
by
its
moderate,
steady
pulse
and
lucid
homophonic harmonies; even the compression of the text,
with its many repetitions of short phrases.
For Dubra these are a source of strength. He said that he did
not want to illustrate or expound a devotional text, but to work
on the emotions of his listeners at an even deeper level, and
the reserved nature of his musical language here gives the
work an eloquent simplicity that appeals directly to the heart.
.
This style is touchingly appropriate for the ancient Latin text. It
belongs
to
Vivace Chorus
the
tradition
of
‘“affective
piety”,
in
which
a
7
technique of religious meditation is powered by the intensely
emotional, but also profoundly inward, contemplation of the
physical sufferings of Jesus or the Christian saints, as an aid to
repentance and spiritual renewal.
The phrase hoc passionis tempore, “in this time of suffering” or
".. of the Passion”, shows that the text was originally written to
be sung at Passiontide,
and
settings
of the
the days leading up to Good Friday,
hymn were
performed
in
large-scale
ceremonies venerating supposed relics of the True Cross of
Christ.
For Dubra and his listeners, however, his version remains an
intimate
piece,
tender
and
modest,
and
with
a
curious
circularity in its structure: the final bars seem to lead gently
back to the beginning, as if the music exists in an eternal
dimension of love and reverence.
O Crux ave, spes unica,
Hail, O cross, our only hope
hoc passionis tempore.
in this time of suffering.
Auge piis justitiam
Grant justice to the faithful
reisque dona veniam.
and mercy to those awaiting
judgment.
8
O Crux ave, spes unica,
Hail, O cross, our only hope
hoc passionis tempore.
in this time of suffering.
Vivace Chorus
Trinity Te Deum
ESenvalds,
like
Eriks Esenvalds (b. 1977)
Dubra, was
born
and educated in Latvia, but he was
still in his teens when Soviet power
came
to
an
end
in
1991
By
October 2012 he was in the middle
of his tenure as Fellow Commoner
in Creative Arts at Trinity College,
Cambridge,
at the
heart
of the
academic and musical life of the
great university.
On hearing his setting of the Te
Deum, written in celebration of the
installation of Sir Gregory Winter as
Master.
Esenvalds's
falleyoi
Photo © Office of the Nordic
Council
of Ministers
in Latvia
composer Gabriel Jackson described it as “a reimagining in
ESenvalds's terms of the Anglican tradition
of ceremonial
music for a grand occasion’, and the robust confidence of the
piece
bears
this
out,
effortlessly
incorporating
a
section
marked alla canzone popolare scozzeze - “in the manner of a
Scottish
folksong”
supplication
-
of the
and
ending
full
Te
not with
the
penitential
text
me
never be
Deum
(let
confounded) but with three blasts of Holy, Holy, Holy!
A careful and adaptive musical craftsman, ESenvalds worked
closely with the Trinity choir and organ scholars to exploit the
warm, crisp acoustic of the College chapel, which had just
been analysed and enhanced (principally for speech) with a
sophisticated
sound
reinforcement
system.
Magnificent
trumpet flourishes, originally scored for a brass ensemble,
introduce rousing shouts of praise, subsiding to gentleness on
the words Lord God of Sabaoth (rather unexpectedly, as this
Vivace Chorus
9
means “Lord God of armies”), then rising in waves of power
before descending again as the text moves on to the Son and
the Holy Ghost.
ESenvalds has a compelling control of dynamic and musical
texture, constantly varying the emotional impact of the piece.
The
‘folksong"
passage
is
introduced
by
a
mysterious
sequence on the organ, originally ornamented by a line for
harp, and dances along with a luminous, soaring delicacy as
the upper voices relate Jesus's Incarnation and Resurrection,
underpinned by the wordless harmonies that flow beneath. A
mesmerising, tranquil vision of Heaven seems about to fade
into the distance, but the organ suddenly swells into power,
and the work ends in shouts of triumph.
We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels cry aloud:
the Heavens and all the powers therein,
To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee.
The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee,
The Father of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son,
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
10
Vivace Chorus
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man,
Thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants
Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.
Seek Him that Maketh
Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)
the Seven Stars
In Bless the Lord,
O my soul
Dove dramatizes God
as a
mystically elemental power, but in Seek Him that Maketh the
Seven Stars he is a loving Lord of the seasons who guides and
sustains the Pleiades and Orion, the constellations whose
yearly rising and setting defined the most important points in
the life-cycle of the ancient world - the times to sow and
harvest, and to venture under sail onto the turbulent waters of
the Mediterranean.
He uses shimmering, twinkling figures (marked bright, starlike)
high
up
in
the
organ
accompaniment,
set
against
radiantly throbbing phrases in the voice to create a beautifully
hypnotic
Vivace Chorus
image of the starry sky,
a fascinating
union
of
11
delicacy and strength. He said in a note that he thought this
would have a special meaning for visual artists, and the piece
was commissioned for the Royal Academy of Arts's annual
Service for Artists.
The voices then seem to soar, swoop and hover, gliding
through the shining depths of sky in search of the God of
harmony and repose: in Dove's words, “the refrain Seek him
starts in devotional longing but is eventually released in a
joyful dance, finally coming to rest in serenity".
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion.
Seek him that turneth the shadow of death into the morning.
Alleluia, yea, the darkness shineth as the day,
Sing!
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
arr. David Willcocks (1919-2015)
Widor's
Toccata
originated
as the
fifth and final movement of his fifth
organ
symphony
organ
alone),
and
(composed
its
for
energetic
brilliance and virtuosic demands on
the player have made it one of the
Tk
R
Charles-Marie Widor
:
best known “display” pieces for the
instrument.
After it was used as a recessional at the wedding of Princess
Margaret in 1960 it became enormously popular, so that when
Sir David Willcocks added choral parts to the score under the
title Sing! he was building on a long-established affection for a
12
Vivace Chorus
popular classic. The good-humoured, high-spirited nature of
the enterprise comes through in Willcocks's dedication of the
piece to the organist at the first performance: “.for Jane Watts,
who triumphed against 4000 voices at the Royal Albert Hall,
London, England on Sunday 11 July 1999"
Widor's original score is played complete, while the voices
embellish it by doubling melodies or harmonies. Willcocks
wrote his own text, a free adaptation of familiar motifs from the
Book of Psalms, but given a contemporary twist - God is the
fount of love; friend, protector, guide.
The exhilarating result is a genial tribute from a fine English
conductor,
composer, teacher,
academic administrator and
popularizer of music (and a patron of Vivace Chorus until his
death
French
in
in
2015) to a celebrated work that is
spirit
-
exuberant,
sophisticated,
unmistakably
dynamic
and
elegant, and all within a span of six minutes.
Sing we praise to God, who reigns above;
God, the fount of love;
Friend, protector, guide; ever by our side;
Let us all our voices raise and sing to God a_ joyous hymn of praise.
Sing praise, hallelujah, sing praise.
Sing we praise to God, who reigns above;
Sing we praise to God, the fount of love;
Sing we with joy,
O sing, hallelujah, sing with joy, O sing;
Sing we praise to God, who reigns above;
Vivace Chorus
13
God, the fount of love;
Friend, protector, guide; ever by our side;
Let us all our voices raise and sing to God a joyous hymn of praise.
Sing praise, hallelujah!
Programme notes © Jon Long 2024
Interval
(20 minutes)
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14
Vivace Chorus
Requiem, Opus 9
Maurice Durufle (1902-1986)
“That
night
in
the
dormitory
|
sobbed on my bed’, wrote Durufle,
remembering how, at the age of ten,
he had been taken by his father to
the cathedral choir school in Rouen
and left there, without warning, to
be educated in the rigorous musical
traditions
of the
Roman
Catholic
Church. Yet years later he saw this
desolating event as the beginning of
a glorious new phase in his life: the
sympathetlc Master of Choristers cheered the lonely boy by
describing how he would now dedicate himself to music, take
part in the sumptuous ceremonies of the cathedral, and one
day learn to play the organ - the foundations on which
Duruflé's magnificent achievement was to be built. "A great
page opened before me’, the composer recalled, in a moment
of rhetorical expansiveness and enthusiasm.
The metaphor that he used
IS
interesting.
the
It
grand
suggests
illuminated
Mass-books of the Middle
Ages,
in
dark
plainchant
which
rising
and
centre
of
the
firm,
notation,
falling
in
the
page
to
represent the austere
but
the
flexible line of the chant, is
often
surrounded
by
beautiful decorative imagery from the natural world: delicate
flowers,
fruits
Vivace Chorus
and
leaves,
stars
and
planets,
lively
and
15
engaging creatures of the wild, and the occasional elegant or
grotesque human figure, all lovingly painted and richly gilded.
A serious devotional point is being made in these complex
works of art: the loveliness of God's creation is complementary
to the comeliness of the liturgical text, each “world" reflecting
and echoing the other on the page, and embodying the same
search for order and beauty as motivated the craftsmen who
constructed the manuscript and the dedicated musicians who
would bring it to life in God's service.
We could draw on this artistic interaction to interpret the
relationship between the different elements that are integrated
in Duruflé's great Requiem. It is famous for its fusion of a
groundwork
of
developments
plainchant
in
French
themes
music
with
powered
the
by
exquisite
Paul
Dukas
(Duruflé's teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, and a life-long
influence), Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Duruflé once
said that he "adored” Debussy's Prélude a lapres-midi d'un
faune, and "adorer” is arguably a much stronger word in French
than its English equivalent.
The
musician
and
critic
Robert
Hugill has written
of the
Requiem that "around the plainchant Duruflée wove a gorgeous
tissue of sound,
unifying disparate elements with sensual
harmonies and seductive scoring”. Hugill was commenting on
the
version
that
includes
an
orchestra,
but
the
score
performed this evening, written for chorus, two soloists, cello
obbligato and organ, sustains this musical opulence through
Duruflé's
glorious
writing
for
the
chorus,
his
careful
specification of the organ stops that will best develop the
blend
of
sound,
and
above
all
through
the
fascinating
interweaving of the timeless eloquence of plainsong with the
vibrant
harmonic
colours
and
complex
textures
of
20th
century French music.
16
Vivace Chorus
In his programme notes Duruflé was clear about the devotional
purpose of the Requiem. “[It] is not an ethereal work which
sings of detachment from earthly worries; it reflects, in the
immutable forms of Christian prayer, the agony of man faced
with the mystery of his end" (his word is angoisse, “anguish’, a
reminder that Durufle was only three years older than JeanPaul Sartre and lived very much in the same intellectual world).
For
Durufle,
however,
the
Christian
religion
resolves
this
‘agony’.
Like his great predecessor Fauré he ends his work with the
believer's
approach
to
Heaven:
“In Paradisum
[marks]
the
ultimate answer of Faith to all questions by the flight of the soul
to Paradise” He said that his Requiem was “often dramatic, or
filled with resignation, or hope or terror, just as larel the words
of Scripture themselves, which are used in the liturgy. It tends
to
translate
human
feelings
before
their
terrifying,
unexplainable or consoling destinies”. The score is in effect a
narrative of redemption, realized in music of enormous power
and subtlety and sustained over 45 minutes until it comes to
rest in reconciliation and peace.
Introit - Requiem aeternam; Kyrie
The elegantly flowing organ part gently supports the voices,
which seem to float on the rippling sound. At first the basses
and tenors are like priests or monks asking the Lord to grant
rest to the souls of the dead, then the wordless harmonies of
the higher voices resolve into pleas for light to shine on them,
and the texture becomes radiant and stirring on the word
perpetua before dying away. Throughout the Requiem Duruflé
varies the emotional “temperature” of the music, and as the
Kyrie ("Lord, have mercy") begins without a break, great waves
of beauty rise and interweave, then fall away as the “Christ,
have mercy" emerges with a more urgent and personal appeal
to Jesus's humanity.
Vivace Chorus
17
Domine, Jesu Christe begins in a sombre mood, with hints of
the ancient four-note Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath") motif. The
prayer is for Jesus to be an active Saviour, using his power to
save souls from the sensationally-imaged torments of Hell the deep lake, the lion's mouth, Tartarus that sucks in and
destroys.
The
pleas
dissonances
of the
chorus
become
insistent,
that
suggest
desperation
and
climaxing
terror.
in
There
follows the noble passage leading to the baritone solo, with
soprano voices first urging that Michael, the archangel who
defeated Satan in person with his squadron of angels, be sent
to lead the redeemed into the world of light, in accordance
with God's promise to Abraham.
The soloist embodies Duruflé's “man in agony" confronting his
destiny, and the moment is dramatized by a contrast between
‘innocent” high sopranos describing the angel, upper voices
recalling the promise, and the desolate Cromorne stop on the
organ with its hollow, reedy sound, introducing the solitary
human voice (Voix humaine is also called for here) crying out
to offer sacrifices and prayers as he speaks for all humankind.
The Sanctus and Benedictus are also built on a dramatic
contrast.
Unlike
Faure,
sequence
of texts
in
who
his
chose
Requiem,
an
almost
Duruflé
identical
includes
the
Benedictus, so that the resplendent praise of God, expressing
his power and the sublime confidence of his worshippers, and
building to a brilliantly theatrical climax,
is followed by a
single, simple Benedictus qui venit ("Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord"), the acclamation of Jesus's followers
as he arrives in Jerusalem to suffer and save the world. The
brief, touching humility of this comes as a response to the
pleas of the soloist earlier, Saviour and Believer linked by their
shared humanity.
18
Vivace Chorus
The beautiful Pie Jesu is set for a mezzo-soprano, partnered by
a cellist whose melodic line echoes and varies that of the
singer. Duruflé achieves a profound emotional impact by the
simplest means here: it is as if the cello says all that cannot be
said by the voice alone, and vice versa - a contemplative duet
whose subtle interplay achieves a wonderful sense of repose at
the end. The peaceful Agnus Dei sustains the atmosphere of
calm as it leads into the radiant Lux seterna.
This "Eternal Light" movement encapsulates Duruflé's art of
integrating different musical elements, old and new, in the
‘seamless garment” of his score. He has composed an original
melody for the organ, which leads with perfect naturalness into
that of the ancient plainchant, sung by the sopranos while the
lower
parts
harmonize
radiance
of
heavenly
sopranos
and
tenors,
wordlessly
light
is
then
then
altos
beneath.
The
touchingly
and
basses,
steady
evoked
by
singing
the
requiem text in gentle unison on single notes, punctuated and
complemented by the delicate flourishes of Duruflé's lovely
melody.
Libera me and In Paradisum
Marie-Madeleine
Duruflé
said
that
the
last
pages
of
her
husband’'s Requiem should be performed with "‘much use of
dramatic contrast”, “a thousand leagues away from une version
policee et amiable" (difficult to translate, but perhaps “civilized
and well-mannered”).
She
emphasized
that
before
the
In
Paradisum "which opens the gates of eternity, the soul passes
through visions of terror in the face of the flames of Hell".
The Libera me accordingly begins with a long, startling blast of
the trumpet of doom, followed by the uncompromisingly stark
pleas of the basses for deliverance from eternal death. As other
parts join
them
the
pace
accelerates
to
something
like
desperation, and the baritone soloist's line sounds genuinely
Vivace Chorus
19
terrified
as
he
emerges
briefly
from
the
anxious
throng.
Agitation becomes exhaustion, and the high soprano line that
introduces the last of many pleas for rest and release has a
touching pathos as well as hope in its weary supplication.
This prepares superbly for the beautifully poised In Paradisum,
which
dramatizes
specifically
the
longed-for journey
into
Paradise rather than an achieved state of blessedness: all
passion spent, may the souls be led by angels, lifted up by the
martyrs, and at last taken into the heavenly Jerusalem. The
great work ends on an eloquently unresolved chord, as if the
final harmony of forgiveness and acceptance can be heard in
its fullness only beyond our mortal world.
Programme notes © Jon Long 2024
1. Introit
Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Eternal rest give unto them, O
Domine:
Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
and let perpetual light shine
upon them.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
A hymn, O God, becometh
Thee in Zion;
et tibi reddetur votum in
and a vow shall be paid to
Jerusalem:
Thee in Jerusalem:
exaudi orationem meam,
hear my prayer;
ad te omnis caro veniet,
all flesh shall come to Thee.
Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Eternal rest give unto them, O
Domine:
Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
and let perpetual light shine
upon them.
Vivace Chorus
II Kyrie eleison
Kyrie, eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
Christe, eleison.
Christ, have mercy.
Kyrie, eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
III Domine Jesu Christe
Choir & Baritone solo
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex
Lord Jesus Christ, King of
gloriee,
glory,
libera animas omnium fidelium
deliver the souls of all the
defunctorum
faithful departed
de poenis inferni et de profundo
from the pains of hell and
lacu:
from the bottomless pit:
libera eas de ore leonis,
deliver them from the lion's
mouth,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
that Tartarus swallow them
not up,
ne cadant in obscurum:
that they fall not into
darkness,
sed signifer sanctus Michael
but let the standard-bearer
holy Michael
repraesentet eas in lucem
lead them into that holy light:
sanctam:
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti,
Which Thou didst promise of
et semini eius.
old to Abraham and to his
seed.
Vivace Chorus
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine,
We offer to Thee, O Lord,
laudis offerimus:
sacrifices and prayers:
tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
do Thou receive them on behalf
of those souls
quarum hodie memoriam
of whom we make memorial
facimus:
this day.
fac eas, Domine, de morte
Grant them, O Lord, to pass
transire ad vitam.
from death to that life,
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et
Which Thou didst promise of
semini eius.
old to Abraham and to his seed.
IV Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Holy, holy, holy,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Lord God of Hosts.
Pleni sunt ceeli et terra gloria tua
Heaven and earth are full of Thy
glory.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Hosanna in the highest.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine
Blessed is He Who cometh in
Domini.
the Name of the Lord.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Hosanna in the highest.
V Pie Jesu
Mezzo-soprano solo
Pie Jesu Domine,
Pious Lord Jesus,
Dona eis requiem.
Give them rest
Pie Jesu Domine,
Pious Lord Jesus,
Dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Give them eternal rest
Vivace Chorus
VI Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
Lamb of God, Who takest
mundi: dona eis requiem.
away the sins of the world,
grant them rest.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
Lamb of God, Who takest
mundi: dona eis requiem.
away the sins of the world,
grant them rest.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
Lamb of God, Who takest
mundi:
away the sins of the world,
dona
eis
requiem
sempiternam.
grant them eternal rest
VII Lux Aeterna
Lux aeterna luceat eis,
May light eternal shine upon
Domine:
them, O Lord,
Cum Sanctis tuis in eeternum:
With Thy Saints for evermore:
quia pius es.
for Thou art gracious.
Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Eternal rest give to them, O
Domine:
Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
and let perpetual light shine
upon them:
Cum Sanctis tuis in eeternum:
With Thy Saints for evermore,
qQuia pius es.
for Thou art gracious.
VIII Libera Me
Choir and Baritone Solo
Libera me, Domine, de morte
Deliver me, O Lord, from death
aeterna, in die illa tremenda:
eternal in that awful day.
Vivace Chorus
Quando caeli movendi sunt et
When the heavens and the
terra:
earth shall be moved:
Dum veneris judicare saeculum
When Thou shalt come to
per ignem,
judge the world by fire.
Tremens factus sum ego, et
Dread and trembling have
timeo, dum discussio venerit,
laid hold on me, and | fear
atque ventura ira.
exceedingly because of the
judgement and of the wrath
to come.
Quando caeli movendi sunt et
When the heavens and the
terra.
earth shall be moved.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis
O that day, that day of wrath,
et miserize, dies magna et
of sore distress and of all
amara valde,
wretchedness, that great
day and exceeding bitter.
Dum veneris iudicare saeculum
When Thou shalt come to
per ignem.
judge the world by fire.
Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Eternal rest grant unto them,
Domine: et lux perpetua luceat
O Lord, and let perpetual
eis.
light shine upon them.
IX In Paradisum
In paradisum deducant te
May the Angels lead thee
Angeli:
into paradise:
in tuo adventu suscipiant te
may the Martyrs receive
Martyres,
thee at thy coming,
et perducant te in civitatem
and lead thee into the holy
sanctam Jerusalem.
city of Jerusalem.
Vivace Chorus
Chorus Angelorum te
May the choir of Angels
suscipiat,
receive thee,
et cum Lazaro quondam
and with Lazarus, who once
paupere aeternam habeas
was poor, mayest thou have
requiem.
eternal rest
Maurice Duruflé at the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the
Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, Paris, 1953
Vivace Chorus
25
T
ozart Players
28" April 2024 at 16:30
- Masques efbergamasques
Soloist: Layla Baratto
Oboe Concerto
Conductor: Philip Ellis
Poulenc Sinfonie’étagf'
Ages 21 & under: £5
Box Office: 01932 559400
themenuhinhall.co.uk
surreymozartplayers.com
The Menuhin Hall,
Stoke d’Abernon,
Surrey,
KT11 3QQ
Rebecca Leggett
Rebecca
Mezzo-soprano
Leggett is a 2020
Masters
graduate of the Royal College of Music
and a 2018 graduate of Trinity Laban
Conservatoire. She recently became a
‘Rising Star’ of the Orchestra of the Age
of Enlightenment
(2023/25)
and will
perform Bach's Easter Oratorio with the
group this Spring
at the Southbank
Centre,
as
as
well
various
Bach
cantatas throughout the year. Rebecca
is currently part of the 11t edition of ‘Le
Jardin des Voix', Les Arts Florissant's
young artists programme.
Photo © Olivia Da Costa
This year, she continues to tour a new production of Purcell's
The Fairy Queen with William Christie and Paul Agnew; venues
include the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, The Lincoln Center in
New York, and the Royal Albert Hall. Past concert highlights
include Handel's Messiah with the Instruments of Time and
Truth, Haydn's Nelson Mass with The Sixteen at Cadogan Hall,
Copland's In
the Beginning
at St.
Martin-in-the-Fields
and
Handel's Israel in Egypt at St. John's Smith Square.
Rebecca very much enjoys performing song repertoire and
received first place at the London Song Festival British Art
Song Competition 2022, with pianist George Ireland. She and
George were also finalists in the Kathleen Ferrier Award 2023
at the Wigmore Hall, and the pair plan on touring a Sussex
themed recital throughout the county in 2024/25. Rebecca is
from Sussex and back in 2018 won the Coro Nuovo Sussex
Young Musician of the Year Competition. Last year, Rebecca
performed in an Emerging Artist slot for the Oxford Lieder
Festival with pianist Dylan Perez and gave a joint recital with
Brindley Sherratt for the Ludlow English Song Weekend.
Vivace Chorus
27
Thomas NieBer
Baritone
Welsh-German
read
Music
baritone
and
Thomas
German
at
the
University of Bristol before studying
at the Guildhall School of Music
and
Drama, where
he
graduated
with
a
on
the
distinction
Masters
with
programme.
Professor
He
Janice
Artist
studies
Chapman
and Robert Dean.
He has been making a name for
himself both in the UK and on the
continent and has been praised for
his
voice'
(Cambrian
‘powerful
News)
and
but
richly
‘robust,
toned
immersive
sound’ (Badische Neueste Nachrichten).
Recent
solo
highlights
include
Mendelssohn
Eljah
(Choir
2000), Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem (Bristol Choral Society),
Durufle Requiem (Vasari Singers), Handel Messiah (Trinity Choir,
Fareham),
Elgar
The
Dream
of
Gerontius
and
Walton
Belshazzar's Feast (Vivace Chorus), as well as many operatic
roles.
Thomas is also an experienced choral singer, having been a
member of the National Youth Choir of Wales, where he won
the Keith Griffin Award for Choral Singing.
He has toured with the Marian Consort and the BBC Singers
and is a member of the professional choir at St Bartholomew
the Great, Farringdon. In 2024 he looks forward to performing
Vaughan Williams
Dona
Nobis
Pacem with
the
Guildford
Choral Society and Bach's St John Passion with the Chorus of
Dissent.
28
Vivace Chorus
George Castle
George
took
Organ
Castle's
him
musical
through
education
singing
chorister
at
school
Bedford, where
in
Durham
as
a
Cathedral,
he
also
started to learn the organ, and a year
as
Organ
Scholar
at
Worcester
Cathedral. Following this, he studied
for
a
degree
University,
scholarships
and
in
music
where
he
at
Oxford
held
organ
concurrently
Worcester
Colleges.
at Trinity
Having
graduated in 2008, George returned
Photo © Jim Pascoe
to Worcester Cathedral for four years, where he accompanied
and helped train the various choirs and, from 2011, directed the
Voluntary Choir. He was then Assistant Director of Music at
Winchester Cathedral until 2021. Through his work in cathedral
music, George has been organist for the Southern Cathedrals
Festival in Winchester and was one of the organists for a
number of Three Choirs Festivals between 2005 and 2012.
George is currently a visiting music teacher at The Pilgrims'’
School, Winchester,
and works at Winchester College and
Charterhouse as an organ and piano teacher. He combines this
with a busy freelance career as an organist, continuo player,
repetiteur, accompanist, occasional celesta player, and choral
conductor around the south of England; he is the accompanist
for the Waynflete Singers, one of the regular accompanists for
the Vasari Singers and the musical director of RSCM Voices
West. George has featured on numerous radio broadcasts and
recordings, including playing the organ for some episodes of
Netflix's “The Crown’, and he had a brief spell as a backing artist
in the top 10 of the Italian pop charts. He enjoys medium
calibre books and light calibre canoeing.
Vivace Chorus
29
Jonathan Hennessey-Brown
Cello
Since leaving the Royal College of
Music in 1997, Jonny has spent 26
years as a freelance cellist.
He
has
enjoyed
performing
Placido
Domingo,
Renée
Damon
Albarn,
Cuban
with
Fleming,
Ballet
and
various orchestras around the world,
at venues as diverse as the Dubai
Opera House and a Mexican prison
(and felt more comfortable at the
latter!)
However, this evening marks his last public performance -
Hennessey Brown Music, which fixes orchestras for concerts
and
recordings,
has
become
Jonny's
full-time
job
such
Raphael
Wallfisch,
and
passion.
Representing
artists
as
Emma
Johnson, Pascal Roge and some more up and coming artists
no longer leaves him time to continue with more than one
career.
He can't think of a more fitting farewell occasion than to play
this stunning work with a conductor as kind and genuine as
Jeremy Backhouse, and in a church that means a great deal to
him and his family.
Hennessey Brown Music is putting on a concert to celebrate
International Women's Day, on March 6th at Cadogan Hall in
London
- Jonny would
be
delighted
if any
of tonight's
audience could join him there.
Jonny sees his most important
job to be trying his best to be a
good Dad.
30
Vivace Chorus
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, Vasari Singers
has performed regularly at major concert
venues and cathedrals throughout the UK
and
abroad. Jeremy and Vasari Singers
broadcast frequently on Classic FM and
BBC Radio 3 and have a discography of
over 25 CDs on
EMI, Guild, Signum and
Photo © Ash Mills
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 specially-
commissioned 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,
Vivace Chorus
31
About Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Music Director
Francis Pott
Accompanist
Peter Norman
Chairman
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 newlycommissioned
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”.
32
Vivace Chorus
On 13t July 2025, we plan to
return to the Royal Albert Hall
again, where we will be joined by
other
local
choirs,
the
Royal
Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
and
internationally-renowned
soloists Nicky Spence and Lucy
Crowe,
to
Daphnis
perform
and
Poulenc's
Ravel's
Chloé
Gloria
Suite,
and
the
spectacular Te Deum by Hector
Berlioz.
Vivace
thrives
exceptional
under
leadership
the
of
Photo
© Ash Mills
our
conductor, Jeremy Backhouse. Jeremy's passion for choral
music and his sheer enthusiasm for music-making are evident
at
every
Francis
rehearsal and
Pott,
who
is
performance.
an
academic
He
is
supported
by
and
composer of
international repute and an accomplished concert pianist who better to accompany our rehearsals?
We have also enjoyed successful European and UK tours,
including trips to France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Baltic
states and, most recently, northern Spain.
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 X
(Twitter) - @VivaceChorus.
Vivace Chorus
33
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all patrons for their support.
Honorary Life Patrons
John Britten
John Trigg MBE
James Garrow
Life Patrons
John and Jean Leston
Platinum Patrons
Richard & Mary Broughton
Peter Norman
Amanda Burn
Robin Privett
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson CBE
David & Linda Ross
Norman Carpenter
Geoffrey Johns & Sheila Rowell
Andrea & Gunter Dombrowe
Catherine & Brian Shacklady
Rosemary & Michael Dudley
Prue & Derek Smith
Geoffrey Forster
Dennis & Marjory Stewart
Susan Hinton
Idris & Joan Thomas
Stephen Linton
Pam Usher
John McLean OBE & Janet McLean
Rob and Susie Walker
Ron & Christine Medlow
Anthony J T Williams
Lionel & Mary Moon
Bill & June Windle
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 Anna Arthur by
emailing: patrons@vivacechorus.org.
34
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANO
Mary Somerville
Anna Williams
Geoff Johns
Sandra Adamson
Valerie Thompson
Fiona Wimblett
Stephen Linton
Maggie Woolcock
Charles Martin
Sel Adamu
Olwyn Westwood
Amelia Atkinson
Chris Wilks
Jan Barklem
Eiri Williams
Helen Beevers
Mary Broughton
Olivia Church
Jo Haviland
Isobel Humphreys
Nicola Kalimeris
Becky Kerby
Fran MacKay
Suzie Maine
Sue Norton
Robin Onslow
Gillian Rix
Sarah Smithies
Joan Thomas
Miriam White
SECOND SOPRANO
SECOND ALTO
Geraldine Allen
FIRST ALTO
Evelyn Beastall
Anna Arthur
Graham Vincent
Tim Wray
Sheena Ewen
FIRST BASS
Barbara Barklem
Liz Hampshire
Paul Barnes
Jackie Bearman
Pauline Higgins
Phil Beastall
Marion Blair
Lois McCabe
Richard Broughton
Richard Dacey
Jane Brooks
Kay McManus
Amanda Burn
Val Morcom
Brian John
Philippa Curtis
Pamela Murrell
Jeremy Johnson
Fiona Davidge
Sonja Nagle
Jon Long
Valentina Faedi
Jo Stokes
Keith McClurey
Lynne Hargreaves
Rosey Storey
Malcolm Munt
Sheila Hodson
Esther Van Rooyen
Chris Newbery
Jean Leston
Alison Vincent
Robin Privett
Lis Martin
June Windle
David Ross
Penny McLaren
Elisabeth Yates
Phil Stanford
Ros Milton
FIRST TENOR
Jacqueline Alderton
Lilly Nicholson
Gill Backhouse
Jackie Payne
Sarah Badger
Elinor Pinnegar
Jane Barnes
Linda Ross
Scarlett Close
Catherine
Ann Fuller
Shacklady
Margaret Kay
Marjory Stewart
Alex Nash
Julia Stubbs
SECOND TENOR
Alison Palmer
Nicola Telcik
Peter Butterworth
Kate Peters
Hilary Trigg
Simon Dillon
Vivace Chorus
Peter Norman
Bob Bromham
Rob Walker
Kieron Walsh
Bob Cowell
SECOND BASS
Andrea Dombrowe
Peter Andrews
Nick Manning
Norman Carpenter
John Trigg
Stuart Gooch
Susie Walker
Nick Gough
Mike Johns
Neil Martin
Chris Peters
Richard Wood
Vivace Chorus dates for your diary
Verdi: Requiem
Saturday 18" May 2024 7:30pm
Vivace Chorus
Liverpool
G Live, Guildford
performs this awe-inspiring
Welsh
Choral
Union
and
piece alongside the
the
National
Symphony
Orchestra. Full of drama and beauty, this is a bumper piece that
raises the roof, shakes the floor and sends shivers down your spine!
We'll be
packing
the
G Live
stage with
200
singers,
a
huge
orchestra, four brilliant soloists and eight off-stage trumpets for this
amazing performance of Verdi's Requiem. This is live music at its
most heart-thumping - you'll kick yourself if you miss it.
Two by Two
Saturday 6" July 2024 4:00pm
Holy Trinity Church, Guildford
Join us for a relaxed afternoon family concert with a nonsense
theme! We'll be singing the fantastic Mr Lear, by Alan Bullard, and
the very popular Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo by Michael
Flanders and Joseph Horowitz. Just an hour long, this is the perfect
Saturday afternoon entertainment for you and the family. Why not
bring your favourite stuffed animal along with you?!
A West End Extravaganza!
Saturday November 16t 2024 7:30pm
G Live, Guildford
Join us and the award-winning Friary Band for another night of
songs from the shows!
Featuring some of the best-loved
songs from hit West End shows, including Guys & Dolls and
Mamma Mia, we bring the glamour, humour and wonderful
music to your doorstep. Don't miss it!
Printed by IMPRINT COLOUR LTD
Pegasus Court, North Lane, Aldershot GU12 4QP. Tel: 01252 330683
Vivace Chorus is a Registered Charity No. 1026337
36
Vivace Chorus
Soprano: Claire Seaton
Mezzo-Soprano: Catherine Backhouse
Tenor: Richard Dowling
ik e
Baritone: Tim Nelson
National Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
R
Saturday
18 May 2024
at7.30 pm
GLIVE
L—GUILDFORD
—!
Vivace
Chorus
Tickets £12.50 - £35.00
LIVERPOOL WELSH
CHORAL
0343 310 0055 GLive.co.uk
Registered Charity No. 1026337
REQUIEM
22
a family concert
at Holy Trinity Church
Join us for a relaxed afternoon
May, we will be
]omed by the forces of
“ the Liverpool Welsh
Choral for a magnificent
performance of the
family concert with a nonsense
theme! We'll be singing the
fantastic Mr Lear, by Alan Bullard,
and the very popular Captain
Noah and his Floating Zoo by
Michael Flanders and Joseph
Horowitz. Just an hour long, this
is the perfect Saturday afternoon
entertainment for you and the
family.
Verdi Requiem. With
200 singers, a huge live
orchestra, the iconic Verdi
drum and four fantastic
soloists, this music turns
from the truly terrifying to
the completely sublime,
and is one of the most
crowd-pleasing pieces in
the classical music world.
Book your tickets now for
an unmissable evenlng 's
entertam ent!
16 November 2024
‘,
Alactr
EnA
\ West EndA
Exvédrav/a
Extravat
~NAN T
LALIAVAYdAdI
LA
at GLive
Join us and the award-winning
Friary Band for a night of songs
from the shows! Featuring some
of the best-loved tunes from
hit West End shows, including
Guys & Dolls and Mamma Mia,
we bring the glamour, humour
and wonderful music to your
doorstep. Don’t miss it!
'\
Vivace
7/
:
Friday
1 March 2024
at 7.30 pm
Chorus
Holy Trinity, Guildford High Street.
or furthér detatis and 1o Book go
ta vivacechorus.org