Details
St Albans Cathedral
Holywell Hill
St Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 1BY
England
Programme
Anton Bruckner – Mass no.2 in E minor, WAB 27
~ Interval ~
Duke Ellington – Sacred Concert
Performers
Zoë Brookshaw – soprano
David Temple – Conductor
Blue Planet Orchestra
Programme Note
Duke Ellington’s celebratory Sacred Concert is a spectacular blend of gospel and jazz music with traditional choral singing. Although Duke is best known for his jazz arrangements, he wrote Sacred Concert toward the end of his life and described it as "...the most important thing I have ever done".
Bruckner's Mass in E minor is certainly one of the most beautiful and powerful works ever composed for a choir and wind instruments. It is arguably his first master-piece. It illustrates his unique style combining the simplicity of Italian Renaissance polyphony with romantic style harmony and a powerful combination of vocal and instrumental textures.