Details
St James's Church
Sussex Gardens
Paddington
London
W2 3UD
England
Programme
Gregorio Allegri – Miserere
Performers
James Short – Conductor
Chapel Choir of Exeter College Oxford
Other concerts in this Series (+)
Programme Note
February 23 marks the 100th Anniversary to the day of the first performance of the complete Songs of Farewell in the Chapel of Exeter College. Parry set the texts of the Bible and of distinguished British writers to music during the First World War, one which he never saw the end; he died just over a month before the Armistice. The theme of the programme reflects remembrance and solemnity, but also explores that which may be beyond death and the promise of life. Allegri's Miserere sets Psalm 51, a cry for mercy, in the form of a Falsobordone Responsory, and has become one of the most loved works by the composer, famed for the virtuostic solo quartet.
The Choir of Exeter College, Oxford, remains the only choir in either Oxford or Cambridge to sing three Evensongs a week under the sole direction of the Organ Scholar, and is widely regarded as one of the finest student ensembles in the country.
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry | Songs of Farewell
Gregorio Allegri | Miserere
William Henry Harris | Faire is the Heaven
Charles Villiers Stanford | Beati Quorum Via; Justorum Animae
Thomas Tallis | Audivi vocem