Penthos - a new requiem by Matthew Oglesby & Hannah Stone

Premiering a new work is always exciting for a choir, but particularly so when the piece has been created by the choir's own members. This will be the case when St Peter's Singers of Leeds, director of music Dr Simon Lindley, present a new requiem on 27 October 2018 as part of the centenary commemorations of the Great War Armistice in Leeds. Penthos, for choir, orchestra and alto and baritone soloists, is written by composer Matthew Oglesby and poet Hannah Stone, both of whom are members of St Peter's Singers. The work takes its structure from the Requiem Mass but with a text partly inspired by the poetry of early Eastern Christian monks.

Matthew Oglesby and Hannah Stone's earlier collaboration, Picking fruit on the Feast of Transfiguration, received its first performance in 2015 and was performed again to considerable acclaim at St Peter's Singers' recent recital in Leeds Minster.

Penthos is being premiered on 27 October 2018 at 6pm at St Michael's Church, Headingly, Leeds in a concert which also includes music by Beethoven and Mauersberger. The choir has created a dedicated website for the work.