For the Fallen: a concert of remembrance with the Elgar Chorale of Worcester: A choral concert with centrepiece the Duruflé Requiem at St Martin's Church, Worcester on Saturday 9th November 2024

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

For the Fallen: a concert of remembrance with the Elgar Chorale of Worcester

A choral concert with centrepiece the Duruflé Requiem

Add to my Calendar 09-11-2024 19:30 09-11-2024 21:30 36 For the Fallen: a concert of remembrance with the Elgar Chorale of Worcester The central piece of the Elgar Chorale’s concert is the wonderful Requiem by Maurice Duruflé which, in his own words “…. is not an ethereal work, which sings detached from worldly anxiety. It reflects, in the unchangeable form of the Christian prayer, the anguish of man facing the mystery of his ultimate end”. Based on Gregorian chant themes of the Mass for the Dead, the glorious heart rending ‘Kyrie’ leads to the ultimate response of faith to all the big questions by the flight of the soul towards Paradise in the ‘In Paradisum’  The programme will also feature two When David Heard pieces, one by Thomas Weelkes, the Tudor composer and the other by the popular American contemporary composer Eric Whitacre. Whitacre uses silences throughout the piece to enhance the feeling of raw loneliness implied by the text, and yet lets the texture build to a devastating climax using sheer volume and the continuous addition of dissonance. The piece is very dark with no resolution to a major chord. There is no hope in sight, just loneliness.  The Malvern St James Singers feature alongside the Chorale in the concert and have their own spot with Mark Blatchly’s work September 1914: For the Fallen composed for the 1980 Royal British Legion Festival: it has a haunting effect that speaks of the innocence of a nation on the edge of war that would change not only this nation but the whole world.  Alongside works by Elgar and Howells this concert will be a powerful reminder of our troubled times and thoughtful remembrance. St Martin’s is a wonderful space and a favourite venue for music making in Worcester: the magnificent Nicholson/Tipple organ will be played by Peter Shepherd accompanying the Chorale. St Martin's Church, Worcester DD/MM/YYYY

Details

St Martin's Church
London Road
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR5 2ED
England

Saturday 9th November 2024
7:30 PM

Programme

Maurice Duruflé – Requiem, Op.9
Herbert Howells – King David
Eric Whitacre – When David Heard
Thomas Weelkes – When David Heard that Absalon was slain
Edward Elgar – They Are At Rest, anthem
Mark Blatchly – September 1914: For the Fallen

Performers

Piers Maxim – Musical Director
Peter Shepherd – organ / piano

Elgar Chorale
Malvern St James Singers

Programme Note

The central piece of the Elgar Chorale’s concert is the wonderful Requiem by Maurice Duruflé which, in his own words “…. is not an ethereal work, which sings detached from worldly anxiety. It reflects, in the unchangeable form of the Christian prayer, the anguish of man facing the mystery of his ultimate end”. Based on Gregorian chant themes of the Mass for the Dead, the glorious heart rending ‘Kyrie’ leads to the ultimate response of faith to all the big questions by the flight of the soul towards Paradise in the ‘In Paradisum’

The programme will also feature two When David Heard pieces, one by Thomas Weelkes, the Tudor composer and the other by the popular American contemporary composer Eric Whitacre. Whitacre uses silences throughout the piece to enhance the feeling of raw loneliness implied by the text, and yet lets the texture build to a devastating climax using sheer volume and the continuous addition of dissonance. The piece is very dark with no resolution to a major chord. There is no hope in sight, just loneliness.

The Malvern St James Singers feature alongside the Chorale in the concert and have their own spot with Mark Blatchly’s work September 1914: For the Fallen composed for the 1980 Royal British Legion Festival: it has a haunting effect that speaks of the innocence of a nation on the edge of war that would change not only this nation but the whole world.

Alongside works by Elgar and Howells this concert will be a powerful reminder of our troubled times and thoughtful remembrance. St Martin’s is a wonderful space and a favourite venue for music making in Worcester: the magnificent Nicholson/Tipple organ will be played by Peter Shepherd accompanying the Chorale.

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