The Southampton Philharmonic Choir is a large choral society based in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England. It has around 170 members and also benefits from collaborating with the students of the Southampton University Philharmonic Choir. The choir regularly performs with a professional orchestra, the New London Sinfonia, and is directed by David Gibson. The choir is also known as Southampton Philharmonic Society and is a registered charity.Southampton Philharmonic Choir official web site
Retrieved 26 March 2010

History

The choir was founded in 1860, making it Southampton's longest-established music society. It performs works from the baroque and classical repertoire and also contemporary works. The choir has several "first performances in Southampton" to its name and sometimes commissions new works. In 1985, the choir received an Enterprise Award from the National Federation of Music Societies, now Making Music, in recognition of its varied programme and regular inclusion of contemporary works.Southampton Philharmonic Choir official web site - history page
Retrieved 26 March 2010 For the Millennium, Southampton Philharmonic Choir, jointly with

Leeds Festival Chorus The Leeds Festival Chorus is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has 160 singing members in soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections. Presenting classical choral music of a professional standard in Yorkshire and elsewhere, including at the B ...

, commissioned a new oratorio ''The Fall of Jerusalem'' by

Dominic Muldowney Dominic Muldowney (born 19 July 1952 in Southampton) is a British composer. Biography Dominic Muldowney studied at the University of Southampton with Jonathan Harvey, at the University of York (with Bernard Rands and David Blake), and privat ...

, with libretto by

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. Both choirs performed the work, separately, in March 2000, the premiere being in Leeds. The choir performs major concerts three times a year. Its main venue is Southampton Guildhall. It also regularly performs in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

and the Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton. The choir celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2010 with a concert on 24 April in Southampton Guildhall, performing Dominic Muldowney's ''The Fall of Jerusalem'' (see above) and Mozart's '' Requiem''.

Recent performances

In the 2010-2011 season the choir performed the complete score of '' Peer Gynt'', composed by Grieg as the incidental music to Ibsen's play '' Peer Gynt''. The choir commissioned a complete English translation of the score, given its first performance at this concert, narrated by actor

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

. This finished off a memorable concert, which had opened with

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

's ''

Hebrides Overture ''The Hebrides'' (; german: Die Hebriden) is a concert overture that was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as Mendelssohn's Op. 26. Some consider it an early tone poem. It was inspired by one of ...

'' and Delius' ''Songs of Farewell''. The remainder of the season included an accomplished Winchester Cathedral performance of Mozart's Symphony No 29, Solemn Vespers and Mass in C Minor, completed by a summer concert of choral and orchestral music by

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

and Parry, with the City of Southampton Orchestra .Southampton Philharmonic Choir website, past events page
Retrieved 22 August 2012 The 2011-2012 season featured a performance of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' with the New London Sinfonia. The Southampton Echo described it as an "evening to remember," praising every aspect of the performance.Southampton Echo, concert review
Retrieved 6 December 2011 Other performances included ''The Bells'', along with ''Vocalise'' and ''Piano Concerto No 2'' by

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

, and Poulenc's ''Gloria'', and Haydn's The Creation.

2012-2013 season

During the 2012-2013 season the choir has performed

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'', and will follow it with

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's '' Requiem'' (which will be sung from memory so that the full range and power of this work can be heard), and a joint concert with the City of Southampton Orchestra, comprising

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

's ''

Belshazzar's Feast Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the First Temple. A hand appears and ...

'' and ''Te Deum'', along with

's ''

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

''.

References

External links

Southampton Philharmonic Choir official web site
{{authority control English choirs Musical groups from Southampton Musical groups established in 1860 1860 establishments in England Choral societies