12th June 2010
Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643): Vespers of 1610
In 1610 Monteverdi travelled to Rome for an audience with Pope Paul V.
He took with him his own publication of a Mass (Missa ‘In Illo Tempore’) dedicated to Paul V;
published in the same volume was a setting of the main movements of the Vespers
(five psalms, a Magnificat, and the hymn, Ave maris stella) together with an additional
setting of the Magnificat, an opening Toccata (adapted from his earlier opera Orfeo), and
five ‘sacred concertos’ for various voices (Nigra sum, Pulchra es, Duo Seraphim,
Audi cœlum and the Sonata sopra ‘Sancta Maria ora pro nobis’). It is the inclusion of
these latter items that has caused considerable debate as to whether the Vespers
were ever intended to be performed liturgically with all of these items included.
Barry Creasy
Chairman
Collegium Musicum of London
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12th Dec 2009
Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah
"Structurally the work is clearly influenced by the choral masterpieces of Bach and Handel,
but its highly dramatic style, at times bordering on the operatic, constitutes a significant
step forward from its Baroque predecessors. Elijah has many other outstanding qualities:
the imaginative orchestration, the spontaneity and energy of the counterpoint, the variety
which Mendelssohn brings to the recitatives to ensure that they always maintain the dramatic
impetus, and the sheer beauty of many of the arias and choruses. Above all, there is no
mistaking the work’s considerable dramatic impact, epitomised by the vivid characterisation
of Elijah himself."
John Bawden
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16th May 2009
Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
“The simplicity and cunning of the music is most impressive. Orff deliberately
discards counterpoint, thematic development and the use of elaborate forms; the
vocal parts are written in unison, octaves, thirds, and sometimes fifths, the
tunes are concise and of popular character and are repeated without variation,
sometimes merely transposed into other keys. His writing is tonal in principle
and there is an occasional sprinkling of clashing harmonies. The swinging,
vigorous rhythm plays a dominating part in the whole work”.
Bartlett (Grove, 5th. ed.)
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6th Dec 2008
Faure Requiem
Gabriel Fauré composed his Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 between 1887 and 1890.
This choral-orchestral setting of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead is the
best known of his large works. The most famous movement is the soprano aria Pie
Jesu. Camille Saint-Saëns said of it, "just as Mozart's is the only Ave verum
Corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu."
Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
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17th May 2008
Mozart Requiem
The Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in 1791.
The requiem was Mozart's last composition, and is one of his most powerful and recognized
works, not only for its music, but also for the debate over how much of the music Mozart
managed to complete before his death, and how much was later composed by his colleague Franz Xaver Süssmayr.
Despite debate about how much of the music was Mozart's, the Requiem has taken a prominent place as one of Mozart's most important works.
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8th Dec 2007
Benjamin Britten - Saint Nicolas Cantata
Christmas fantasia by Beatrice Gauld
"A dramatic cantata in Nine Scenes depicting the life of Saint Nicolas, his faith, his miracles and his enduring legacy."
More notes can be found at the St. Nicholas website.
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May 19th and September 30th 2007
Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man, A Mass for Peace
"The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace"
received its world première in April 2000 at London's Royal
Albert Hall. By turns visceral and
ethereal, the Mass was "a firebomb of orchestral and human
voices" (The Times) that drew "prolonged shouts of approval
from the audience" (The Independent).
www.karljenkins.com
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Saturday Dec 9th 2006
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Verdi Requiem
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Saturday May 13th at 7.30 pm, at St Paul's, Augustus
Road, Southfields, SW18
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Alexander's Feast (George Frideric
Handel).
This concert is in conjunction with
Choeur Régional de Flandre and will be repeated on the 21st
May in Dunkirk.
St Paul's, Augustus Road, Southfields, SW18.
Nearest stations: Putney, Putney Bridge, Southfields.
Walk from Southfields Station up Augustus Road to church at the top (15
minutes).
Buses: from Putney Bridge Station, 93 to Inner Park road, 39 to the top
of Augustus Road.
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Saturday Dec 10th, 2005, at St Paul's, Augustus Road,
Southfields, SW18
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- Carols
- A new piano concerto by Paul Rhys (piano: Oto
Miyaoi)
- Handle's Messiah, Parts I and III
St Paul's, Augustus Road, Southfields, SW18.
Nearest stations: Putney, Putney Bridge, Southfields.
Walk from Southfields Station up Augustus Road to church at the top (15
minutes).
Buses: from Putney Bridge Station, 93 to Inner Park road, 39 to the top
of Augustus Road.
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Saturday June 11th, 2005, at Christchurch, East Sheen
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A cheerful summer concert with
music by Haydn, Horovitz (Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo) and
Brahms. Strawberries and cream a speciality.
Nearest station, Mortlake (from Waterloo). Buses
33, 337, 493.
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Saturday May 14th, 2005, St. John's Church, Waterloo
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Haydn: The Nelson Mass
Charpentier: Te Deum
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Saturday 11 Dec 2004, St. Paul's Church, Southfields
Vivaldi: Gloria
Respighi: Lauda per la Nativita del Signore
Saturday 8 May 2004, St. Paul's Church, Southfields
Brahms: Requiem
December 2003
Bach Christmas Oratorio and popular Christmas music
Past Concerts
This is just a small selection of
the music included in the concert programmes over the past few years:
- Mozart Colleredo Mass
- Britten Ode to St. Cecilia
- Duruflé Requiem
- Bernstein Chichester Psalms
- Barber Agnus Dei (Adagio)
- Bach St. Matthew Passion
- Verdi Requiem
- Rossini Petite Messe Solonelle
- Walton Belshazzar's Feast
- Britten St. Nicholas
- Handel Messiah
- Schubert Mass in E flat
- Pergolesi Magnificat
- Mozart Requiem
- Orff Carmina Burana
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