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
Mozart’s Da Ponte Operas: Reinventing the Operatic Voice 11:00 – 13:00
The astounding partnership between Mozart and Da Ponte produced Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte, featuring many of opera's most complex and memorable roles. Experience the music and meet the characters in this enthralling recital series.
28 Oct Sincerity on Trial
Dropped into comic operas with seria voices, Mozart's tenors don't get the straightforward luxury of being either comic or serious — Don Ottavio and Ferrando can be both noble and laughed at in the same breath. This recital explores the gorgeous, soaring music sung by men the drama refuses to let you trust. What happens when Mozart puts his heartfelt heroes on trial? With tenor, Robert Forrest, and pianist, Lucy Colquhoun.
A Taste of Heaven – 6pm
The Holy Trinity Consort presents a French-Swiss celebration - written in secret and hidden in a drawer for forty years, Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir is now treasured as one of the twentieth century's great choral discoveries. After the interval, Fauré's sublime Requiem: music of consolation, from the radiant Pie Jesu to the whispered farewell of In Paradisum. We are delighted to welcome Läderach as our partner for the evening, and premium-ticket holders will enjoy an exclusive tasting of their exquisite Swiss chocolate. Candlelight, chocolate and glorious music - an evening to savour at Holy Trinity.
Mozart’s Da Ponte Operas: Reinventing the Operatic Voice 11:00 – 13:00
The astounding partnership between Mozart and Da Ponte produced Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte, featuring many of opera's most complex and memorable roles. Experience the music and meet the characters in this enthralling recital series.
4 Nov Reason and Desire
Soprano, Ceferina Perry, introduces us to the smartest women in eighteenth-century opera: Susanna outwits everyone; the Countess holds her dignity together with sheer will; Zerlina talks her way out of disaster; and Despina runs the whole con. Mozart and Da Ponte threw out the rulebook for female characters and gave each of them a voice, and a mind, entirely her own. Come and celebrate the women who prove that wit, resilience, and desire is just as operatic as tragedy.