Details
St Michael and All Angels Church
Bath Road
Chiswick
London
W4 1TT
England
Programme
John Rutter – Requiem
Richard Rodney Bennett – A Farewell to Arms
Zoltán Kodály – Missa Brevis
Performers
Edward Kemp-Luck – organ
David Wordsworth – Conductor
Addison Singers Oratorio Choir
Addison Singers Chamber Choir
Programme Note
The Addison Oratorio and Chamber Choirs are in reflective mood for their Spring concert this year. The Chamber Choir remember the late British composer and pianist Sir Richard Rodney Bennett in what would have been his 80th birthday year by singing his beautiful piece for choir and cello – ‘A Farewell to Arms’ – two old soldiers remember past glories and are in pensive mood as they consider their retirement and the short time they have left.
The Oratorio Choir turn to contrasting works, both written at a time of personal crisis for their respective composers. Zoltan Kodaly wrote his striking setting of the ‘Missa Brevis’ during the Nazi occupation of Budapest and the piece had its somewhat unorthodox premiere in the cloak-room of the Budapest Opera House where the composer, his wife and musical colleagues were in hiding. The passionate vocal lines and virtuoso organ accompaniment make this one of the most powerful of twentieth century choral works. John Rutter wrote his now popular but deeply personal ‘Requiem’ in memory of his father in 1985 – combining the text of the traditional Requiem Mass and the Book of Common Prayer, Rutter’s gift for melody and ear for instrumental colour makes this work a suitably dignified but uplifting prelude to the Easter season.