Tuesday 16 December 2014

Music for cello and choir - Hugill, Tavener and Bennett on 18 December

London Concord Singers and Malcolm Cottle in 2012, photo credit Josh Hayes
London Concord Singer and Malcolm Cottle in 2012, photo credit Josh Hayes
In the 1990's I wrote a work for soprano and organ for friends' wedding. A setting of words from Corinthians, Faith, Hope and Charity went through various versions including being recorded with solo violin and strings (you can hear this version on my SoundCloud page). Cellist Corinne Morris heard this version and was interested in playing it, and somehow this became combined with writing a piece for Corinne for cello and choir. The result is Faith, Hope and Charity for cello and choir which will be premiered by London Concord Singers at St Botolph without Bishopsgate on 18 December 2014, at 8pm. Also in the concert will be another pair of pieces for cello and choir, John Tavener's evocative Svyati in which the cello plays the role of the priest in dialogue with choir, and Richard Rodney Bennett's A Farewell to Arms. Bennett's lovely work sets a pair of linked poems (one 16th and one 17th century) about a soldier now retired, and the cello part rather incarnates the old soldier. The programme also includes choral music by Otto Nicolai, Palestrina, Victoria, Sisask and Bernard Hughes, and solo cello music by Bach.

The soprano who originally premiered Faith, Hope and Charity is still singing in London Concord Singers and the original organist was Malcolm Cottle, who was to have conducted the concert. With Malcolm's recent death, the concert is being conducted by Matthew Collins. Further information from London Concord Singers website, online ticket sales from EventBrite.

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