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Details
Holy Trinity Church
Sloane Street
Sloane Square
London
SW1X 9BZ
England
Programme
Sergei Rachmaninov – All-night vigil (Vespers): Extracts
Zoltán Kodály – Missa Brevis
John Tavener – Mother of God
John Tavener – As one who has slept
Cecilia McDowall – Gaude etvlaetare
Cecilia McDowall – Easter Light
Cecilia McDowall – Candlemas
Performers
David Hill – Conductor
Philip Scriven – organ
The Bach Choir
Programme Note
Get closer than ever to The Bach Choir in the gorgeous setting of Holy Trinity Sloane Square in this intimate evening of music for choir and organ.
The third concert in the Into Spring series juxtaposes movements from Rachmaninov’s All-night Vigil (Vespers) with Kodály’s Missa Brevis before following the chain of influence through to British composers Tavener and Cecilia McDowall. This is a rare opportunity to hear every nuance of The Bach Choir’s delicate music-making in an intimate and beautiful environment.
Kodály’s Missa Brevis was written at a dark time. Late in the Second World War, his native Hungary was occupied by the Nazis – it was liberated in December 1944 by the Russians after a savageseven-week bombing campaign. Out of darkness came light – Kodály sheltered in the basement of Buda’s Royal Opera House, where he wrote most of his starkly beautiful Missa Brevis.
British-born Tavener said in a BBC interview that “the music of the East is perhaps written not so much with the world in mind… it certainly takes you somewhere else”. His Eastern influences are well documented – ranging from Stravinsky to Pärt and the music of the Orthodox Church. Completing the programme is Tavener’s compatriot Cecilia McDowall, whose Easter Light features organ solos suggestive of the song of the Eastern meadowlark which will be expertly performed by organist Philip Scriven.
As the fog of winter clears, Into Spring: East Meets West brings The Bach Choir’s subtle and delicate side into focus.
