Details
St George's Bristol
Great George Street
Bristol
BS1 5RR
England
Programme
George Frideric Handel – Dixit Dominus, HWV 232
James MacMillan – Seven Last Words from the Cross
Performers
David Ogden – Conductor
Exultate Singers
Exultate Chamber Ensemble
Programme Note
Exultate Singers is joined by the Exultate Chamber Ensemble to perform two powerful and virtuosic works for choir and string orchestra. Widely admired as a masterpiece, James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words From The Cross follows Christ’s final utterances at the crucifixion, meditating on each to form a dramatic and emotional sequence. The vocal writing is at times dramatic and intense, at others plaintive and tender. MacMillan’s use of vocal and instrumental is always mesmerizing and deeply moving. One of the most exhilarating of all his choral works, Handel’s Dixit Dominus was written when the composer was just 22 years old. The piece displays youthful vitality and energy throughout with strong Italian influences.