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Details
Sherborne Abbey
Abbey Close
Sherborne
Dorset
DT9 3LQ
England
Programme
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Sancta Civitas
Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
~ Interval ~
Herbert Howells – Requiem
Ralph Vaughan Williams – Toward the Unknown Region
Performers
Ruth Rogers – violin
Craig Bissex – baritone
Paul Ellis – Conductor
Sherborne Festival Chorus
Sherborne Chamber Choir
Chameleon Arts Orchestra
Programme Note
An all-English programme by two of our best-loved twentieth century composers marks the tenth anniversary of Sherborne Abbey Festival’s own highly acclaimed choir. First performed at the Leeds Festival in 1907, Toward the Unknown Region takes the words of American poet Walt Whitman and put a young Vaughan Williams firmly on the path to the Sea Symphony. Of his many choral works, the later Sancta Civitas was apparently the composer’s favourite, possibly because it embodies his very personal attitude to religious belief. Not often performed until recently, this masterpiece is now enjoying new popularity. Top violinist Ruth Rogers joins the orchestra for the enduringly popular The Lark Ascending, recently voted the nation’s favourite piece of classical music by Classic FM listeners. Howells’s atmospheric and moving setting of the Requiem will be performed by Sherborne Chamber Choir and completes this anniversary concert, which is part of Sherborne Abbey Festival.
