Details
St John's Smith Square
Smith Square
City of Westminster
London
SW1P 3HA
England
Programme
Michael Hurd – Music's Praise
Michael Hurd – Jonah-Man Jazz
Michael Hurd – The Phoenix and the Turtle
~ Interval ~
Benjamin Britten – St Nicolas, Op.42
Performers
Marta Fontanals-Simmons – mezzo-soprano
Ben Johnson – Tenor
Hertfordshire Chorus
Aldenham School Choir
London Orchestra da Camera
Programme Note
Britten’s Saint Nicolas is a cantata about the life of the patron saint of children, seamen, voyagers, and scholars. It chronicles several of the saint’s most celebrated life events. Britten’s music paints a dramatically bold portrait of the saint’s character, and captures both the innocence and reverence of the memories of Saint Nicolas.
Michael Hurd composed sixty published scores and wrote twenty books on music. Conductor and composer Jonathan Willcocks wrote: “Unlike many contemporary composers, Michael Hurd writes music that is immediately attractive both to performers and audience”.
This concert will launch a recording of Michael Hurd’s choral music on the Lyrita label.
Music’s Praise is a choral suite setting texts by William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Robert Herrick, and William Strode, commissioned by the Stroud Festival and first performed in 1968. The Phoenix and the Turtle, a setting of William Shakespeare’s metaphysical poem for mezzo-soprano and chorus, was commissioned and first performed by the Canterbury Singers in 1974. Jonah-Man Jazz is a highly entertaining and memorable ‘pop’ cantata based upon the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale, and has introduced a whole generation of children to the pleasures of singing.
Hertfordshire Chorus, directed by David Temple MBE, is one of finest large choirs in the UK, renowned both for the quality of their classical choral music and for commissioning and performing new works by contemporary composers.
More information: www.hertfordshirechorus.org.uk/concerts/