PRESS RELEASE 11 February 2010
Gloria! the thrill of voices and brass in the Abbey
The exhilarating combination of choir and brass has a long and distinguished history, and is at its best in a resonant acoustic such as that of St Albans Cathedral. St Albans Chamber Choir explore this repertoire in their next concert in the Cathedral on Saturday 27th February, joined by Onyx Brass. This group, described as “easily the classiest brass ensemble in Britain” by BBC Music magazine, has performed at festivals all over Europe and the USA to huge critical acclaim.
The principal work in the programme is John Rutter’s Gloria, one of his most popular pieces. Much less well-known is The World is Charged with the Grandeur of God by Arthur Bliss, a setting of words by Gerard Manley Hopkins and rated as one of the greatest works by this former Master of the Queen’s Music
The programme opens with a rarely-heard short processional piece from Renaissance Peru in the Quechuan language, Hanaq pachap kusikuynin (Heaven’s joy). The Chamber Choir have performed in many languages, including Finnish and Russian, but this is the first time the Quechuan language has featured in one of their programmes! They will also perform two superb examples of multipart motets by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Gabrieli, Buccinate in neomenia tuba (19 voices in 4 choirs) and Exultet iam angelica (14 voices in 3 choirs).
The Choir’s Musical Director John Gibbons will also be conducting his own composition Woefully Arrayed, a setting of John Skelton’s meditation on the Passion, and the programme includes works by Bach, Schütz and Bruckner, whose stunning motets Christus factus est and Ecce sacerdos magnus feature the full power of the brass and organ, played by the Cathedral’s Assistant Master of the Music, Tom Winpenny.
The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets priced from £5 to £22.50 (£1 for children and full-time students) are available from the Ticket Secretary, tel 0845 658 8982 and the Cathedral Information Desk, tel 01727 890256.