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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

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

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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

Saturday Dec 9th 2006

Verdi Requiem

Saturday May 13th at 7.30 pm, at St Paul's, Augustus Road, Southfields, SW18

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.

Saturday Dec 10th, 2005, at St Paul's, Augustus Road, Southfields, SW18

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.

Saturday June 11th, 2005, at Christchurch, East Sheen

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.

Saturday May 14th, 2005, St. John's Church, Waterloo

Haydn: The Nelson Mass Charpentier: Te Deum

Saturday 11 Dec 2004, St. Paul's Church, Southfields

Saturday 8 May 2004, St. Paul's Church, Southfields

December 2003

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