The Bach Choir – Into Spring: Au Printemps – Duruflé Requiem
Programme
Repertoire:
Duruflé – Requiem
Fauré – Cantique de Jean Racine
Poulenc – Easter motets
Poulenc – Litanies à la Vierge Noire
Conductor:
David Hill
Performers:
Katherine Gregory – Mezzo soprano
Philip Scriven – Organ
Au Printemps brings audiences closer than ever to The Bach Choir. In the fourth concert of our Into Spring series we present a tranquil and lush programme of French works for choir and organ, showcasing the range and intimacy of a choir usually known for performing with the world’s best orchestras.
The ancient world of Gregorian melodies is combined with a harmonic setting typical of 20th Century France in Duruflé’s Requiem. The Requiem blends different styles to achieve an overall sense of peace not usually found in other Requiem settings.
Cantique de Jean Racine was composed by Fauré at the age of twenty when he was attending Paris’ École Niedermeyer. It sets text from French playwright Jean Racine alongside rich, lush choral writing, and will be recognised by some audiences from its appearance in the motion picture Babe. Poulenc’s Quatre Motets pour un temps de pénitence continues the French theme and rounds out the evening.
As the fog of winter clears, Au Printemps brings The Bach Choir’s subtle and delicate side into focus
Upcoming Events
Battersea Choral Society – Mendelssohn Hymn of Praise – 7:30pm
Hymn of Praise (Lobgesang, Op. 52) is a large-scale choral symphony composed in 1840 by Mendelssohn to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. It is one of Mendelssohn’s most ambitious choral works which helped to revive interest in large, sacred choral music in the 19th century. Interestingly, he was inspired partly by Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Fit for midsummer, this piece is a bright, triumphant and deeply spiritual choral work.
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The University of Arkansas Children’s Choir, founded in 1997, is a community outreach programme of the University of Arkansas Music Department. The ensemble provides young singers with training in performance, musicianship, and music theory within an inclusive and supportive environment.
Its performances span a wide range of musical styles, languages, and traditions, combining strong musical standards with energy, warmth, and a commitment to creativity and inclusivity.
Join Lewisham Choral Society – Rütti Requiem – 7:30pm
Join Lewisham Choral Society for the London premiere of Swiss composer Carl Rütti’s Requiem in the presence of the composer. This striking work was commissioned and premiered in Winchester in 2008 by the Bach Choir, who requested the same orchestration as for the Fauré Requiem: strings, harp and organ. The result was a haunting seven-movement work for double choir with soprano and baritone soloists.
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