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Sancta Civitas
''Sancta Civitas'' (The Holy City) is an oratorio by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Written between 1923 and 1925, it was his first major work since the Mass in G minor two years previously. Vaughan Williams began working on the piece from a rented furnished house in the village of Danbury, Essex, found for him by his former pupil, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs. The work received its first performance in Oxford in May 1926, during the General Strike. Although its title is in Latin, the libretto is entirely in English, based upon texts from Revelation. The text is drawn from several translations, including Taverner's Bible. Late in life, Vaughan Williams called ''Sancta'' the favourite of his choral works. Michael Kennedy described it as "in the form of a homage to Bach from the twentieth century".Kennedy, Michael. ''The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams'' (1964), p.216 Orchestration ''Sancta Civitas'' is scored for a full orchestra, with optional organ, as well as a mixed chorus, a semi-chorus, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece – though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are sometimes presented in concert form. In an oratorio, the choir often plays a central role, and there is generally little or no interaction between the characters, and no props or elaborate costumes. A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter of the text. Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old devices of romance, deception, and murder, whereas the plot of an oratorio often deals with sacred topics, making it appropriate for performance in the church. Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Partridge
Ian Partridge (born 12 June 1938) is a retired English lyric tenor, whose repertoire ranged from Monteverdi, Bach and Handel, the Elizabethan lute songs, German, French and English songs, through to Schoenberg, Weill and Britten, and on to contemporary works. He formed a renowned vocal-piano duo with his sister Jennifer Partridge, with whom he worked for over 50 years. While concentrating mainly on songs, oratorio and lieder, he also recorded opera, and has an extensive discography. He is now a teacher and adjudicator, and conducts master classes in many countries. Biography Ian Harold Partridge was born in 1938 in Wimbledon. He was a chorister at New College, Oxford 1948–52, and a music scholar at Clifton College. He studied at the Royal College of Music from 1956, studying piano and voice. Leaving after a year because he had engaged in paid employment, which was banned by the RCM, he transferred to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where his voice teachers were Norm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oratorios
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece – though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are sometimes presented in concert form. In an oratorio, the choir often plays a central role, and there is generally little or no interaction between the characters, and no props or elaborate costumes. A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter of the text. Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old devices of romance, deception, and murder, whereas the plot of an oratorio often deals with sacred topics, making it appropriate for performance in the church. Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dona Nobis Pacem (Vaughan Williams)
''Dona nobis pacem'' ( en, Grant us peace) is a cantata written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936 and first performed on 2 October of that year. The work was commissioned to mark the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Vaughan Williams produced his plea for peace by referring to recent wars during the growing fears of a new one. His texts were taken from the Mass, three poems by Walt Whitman, a political speech, and sections of the Bible. A.V. Butcher has analysed Vaughan Williams' use of the Whitman poems in this composition. The work is scored for chorus and large orchestra, with soprano and baritone soloists. The phrase ''Dona nobis pacem'' ("Give us peace"), in different settings, punctuates the entire piece. Sections The work is in five continuous movements: # Agnus Dei, whose Latin text comes from the last movement in the Roman Catholic Mass. The soprano introduces the theme, singing it over the orchestra and choir. The text translates as "Lamb of Go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abrasives available. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, with 7,374 inhabitants (2011 census). The main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glynado. Geography Climate Naxos experiences a Mediterranean climate, with relatively mild winters and warm summers. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Csa". (Mediterranean Climate). Inland areas of the island are much wetter and cooler in winter. Mythic Naxos According to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas ("''Zas''" meaning "''Zeus''"). Homer mentions " Dia"; literally the sacred island "of the Goddess". Károly Kerényi explains: One legend has it that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, since 1979.Street, Sean, and Carpenter, R., ''The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, A Centenary Celebration''. Wimborne, The Dovecote Press Ltd, 1993 (). Principal conductors of the orchestra have included Sir Dan Godfrey, Rudolf Schwarz, Constantin Silvestri, Paavo Berglund, Andrew Litton and Marin Alsop. The current principal conductor is Kirill Karabits, since 2009. The orchestra is resident at Lighthouse in Poole, with other major concert series given at Portsmouth Guildhall, the Great Hall of Exeter University and Bristol Beacon. Shorter series are also given in Bournemouth (Pavilion Theatre) and Basingstoke. History Origins to 1934: The Godfrey era The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra was founded in 1893 by Dan Godfrey as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Staples
Andrew Staples (born 19 August 1979) is an English operatic tenor. Education and training Staples started as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was accepted at Eton College under a musical scholarship. Career With The Royal Opera, Staples has sung Tamino in ''Die Zauberflöte'', Narraboth in '' Salome'', and Artabenes in Arne's '' Artaxerxes''. He has also sung at opera houses in Salzburg, Hamburg, Brussels, and Prague. Repertoire * ''Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...'', Tamino * '' Salome'', Narraboth * '' Artaxerxes'', Artabenes References 1979 births 21st-century British male opera singers English operatic tenors Living people People educated at Eton College People educated at St. Paul's Cathedral School {{UK-opera-sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Hill (choral Director)
David Hill, (born on 13 May 1957 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a choral conductor and organist. Beginning July 2013, he holds an appointment to the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. His highest-profile roles are as Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007 until 2017, and Musical Director of The Bach Choir since April 1998. He also holds the positions Chief Conductor of the Southern Sinfonia, Music Director of the Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and President of Bath Bach Choir. Hill is President of the Incorporated Association of Organists, succeeding Catherine Ennis. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to music. He had a part in Coronation Street in 1970 where he broke into the vestry to play the organ and was befriended by Ena Sharples. Past career Hill was educated at Chetham's School of Music and St John's College, Cambridge, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Symphony Chorus
The London Symphony Chorus (abbreviated to LSC) is a large symphonic concert choir based in London, UK, consisting of over 150 amateur singers, and is one of the major symphony choruses of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1966 as the ''LSO Chorus'' to complement the work of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). The LSC is today an independent self-run organisation governed by a council of nine elected representatives. It continues to maintain a close association with the LSO but also takes part in projects with other orchestras and organisations both in the UK and abroad. The LSC performs mainly with the LSO at the Barbican Centre in London as well as appearing at other concert venues around the UK and Europe and regularly at the Avery Fisher Hall, New York. Repertoire The Chorus's core repertoire consists of the major nineteenth and twentieth century orchestral choral works. The Chorus has performed and recorded works such as Elgar's ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Mahle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Langridge
Philip Gordon Langridge (16 December 1939 – 5 March 2010)Millington (7 March 2010) was an English tenor, considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio. Early life Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educated at Maidstone Grammar School and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He started his career as an orchestral violinist, which exposed him to a great variety of music. Career Langridge was admired for his fine singing technique coupled with keen dramatic instincts. His repertoire was broad, ranging from the operas of Claudio Monteverdi and Mozart to more modern works by Ravel, Stravinsky, Janáček and Schoenberg. At the end of his life, he was adding some Wagner roles, including Loge from ''Das Rheingold''. Langridge was also a fine concert singer and regularly performed the sacred music of Bach and Handel. He also won great acclaim for his portrayal of the title role in Elgar's ''The Dream of Gerontius''. In recent years, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryn Terfel
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni'', but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Puccini and Wagner. Biography Bryn Terfel Jones was born in Pant Glas, Caernarfonshire, Wales, the son of a farmer. His first language is Welsh. To avoid confusion with another Welsh baritone, Delme Bryn-Jones, he chose Bryn Terfel as his professional name. He had an interest in and talent for music from a very young age. A family friend taught him how to sing, starting with traditional Welsh songs. After winning numerous competitions for his singing, he moved to London in 1984 and entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied under Rudolf Piernay. In 1988 he entered and won the Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Associat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music. Early life Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe from 1959 to 1966, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1966 to 1967, then was an organ scholar at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1967 to 1970. Career In 1967, while his father was Vicar of Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, Hickox founded the Wooburn Festival and eventually became its president. The Festival still takes place and features music, drama and the visual arts. Hickox also founded the Wooburn Singers and continued as conductor until succeeded by Stephen Jackson. From 1970 to 1971 Hickox was Director of Music at Maidenhead Grammar School (later Desborough School). He founded the City of London Sinfonia in 1971, remaining music director until his death, and also founded the Richard Hickox Sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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