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The Bach Choir
The Bach Choir is a large independent musical organisation founded in London, England in 1876 to give the first performance of J. S. Bach's ''Mass in B minor'' in Britain. The choir has around 240 active members. Directed by David Hill MBE (Yale Schola Cantorum/Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) it regularly performs and records across London and the UK, including at the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Abbey Road Studios. The choir's patron is HM The King. Its conductor laureate was David Willcocks, who was the choir's musical director from 1960 to 1998. Other musical directors have included Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Reginald Jacques. In 2013, John Rutter was appointed president of the choir, following the death of Leopold David de Rothschild in 2012. Its vice presidents are Dame Janet Baker, James Bowman, Dame Felicity Lott and Sam Gordon Clark. The Bach Choir has performed for many film scores, including Kingdom of Heaven, Prometh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bowman (countertenor)
James Thomas Bowman CBE (born 6 November 1941 in Oxford, England) is an English countertenor. His career spans opera, oratorio, contemporary music and solo recitals. In 2010 it was announced that he would give his last London concert in 2011 at the Wigmore Hall, although he would continue to give recitals outside the capital. A few years previously he retired from the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace in London, after a decade of service. Education Bowman's background is in Anglican church music. He was educated at The King's School, Ely where he began singing as a boy chorister at Ely Cathedral, progressing to become head chorister. After the traditional rest when his voice broke he returned as a bass but around 1959 gave his first public performance as a countertenor to a small school congregation in the Lady Chapel. He later went to New College, Oxford as an Organ Scholar and was a member of the New College and Christ Church choirs. Opera In 1967, while still a student, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Delius
Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. He soon neglected his managerial duties and in 1886 returned to Europe. Having been influenced by African-American music during his short stay in Florida, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany beginning in 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in Paris and then in nearby Grez-sur-Loing, where he and his wife Jelka lived for the rest of their lives, except during the First World War. Delius's first successes came in Germany, where Hans Haym and other conductors promoted his music from the late 1890s. In Delius's native Britain, his music did not make regular appearances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the ''Oscars'' for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is ''the'' classical award, especially worldwide." The winners are selected annually by critics for the '' ''Gramophone'''' magazine and various members of the industry, including retailers, broadcasters, arts administrators, and musicians. Awards are usually presented in September each year in London. Gramophone Awards of the 2020s 2021 Source: * Chamber: Beach. Elgar Piano Quintets (Takács Quartet; Garrick Ohlsson) * Choral: Dussek Messe Solemnelle ( Stefanie True, Helen Charlston, Gwilym Bowen, ... [...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] |
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life of St. Francis Assisi'' Charles Scribner Press, NY, 1919, page 286''The seven great hymns of the Mediaeval Church'' by Charles Cooper Nott 1868 ASIN: B003KCW2LA page 96 The title comes from its first line, "Stabat Mater dolorosa", which means "the sorrowful mother was standing". The hymn is sung at the liturgy on the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Stabat Mater has been set to music by many Western composers. Date The Stabat Mater has often been ascribed to Jacopone da Todi, OFM (ca. 1230–1306), but this has been strongly challenged by the discovery of the earliest notated copy of the Stabat Mater in a 13th-century gradual belonging to the Dominican nuns in Bologna (Museo Civico Medievale MS 518, fo. 200v-04r). The Stabat Mate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, the youngest of the six children of Oliver Howells, a plumber, painter, decorator and builder, and his wife Elizabeth. His father played the organ at the local Baptist church, and Herbert himself showed early musical promise, first deputising for his father, and then moving at the age of eleven to the local Church of England parish church as choirboy and unofficial deputy organist. The Howells family's risky financial situation came to a head when Oliver filed for bankruptcy in September 1904, when Herbert was nearly 12. This was a deep humiliation in a small community at the time and one from which Howells never fully recovered. Financially assisted by a member of the family of Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, who had ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Martian (film)
''The Martian'' is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Drew Goddard adapted the screenplay from the 2011 novel '' The Martian'' by Andy Weir. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind and the efforts of NASA to rescue him and bring him home to Earth. It also stars Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Benedict Wong. Produced through 20th Century Fox, the film is a coproduction of the United Kingdom and the United States. Producer Simon Kinberg began developing the film after Fox optioned the novel in March 2013, which Drew Goddard adapted into a screenplay and was initially attached to direct, but the film did not move forward. Scott replaced Goddard as director, and with Damon in place as the main character, production was approved. Filming began in Novem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack The Giant Slayer
''Jack the Giant Slayer'' (previously titled ''Jack the Giant Killer'') is a 2013 American heroic fantasy, fantasy adventure film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, from a story by Lemke and David Dobkin (director), David Dobkin. The film, based on the British fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk", stars Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, and Ewan McGregor. The film tells the story of Jack (hero), Jack, a young farmhand who must rescue a princess from a race of giants after inadvertently opening a gateway to their land in the sky. Development of ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' began in 2005, when Lemke first pitched the idea. D. J. Caruso was hired to direct the film in January 2009, but in September of that year, Caruso was replaced by Singer, who hired McQuarrie and Studney to rework the script. The main characters were cast between February and March 2011, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrek The Third
''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek 2'' (2004) and the third installment in the ''Shrek'' film series, it was directed by Chris Miller (in his feature directorial debut), co-directed by Raman Hui, and produced by Aron Warner, from a screenplay written by Miller, Warner, and the writing team of Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story by Andrew Adamson, the co-director of the previous installments. The film features Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews, and John Cleese reprising their voice roles from the previous films, along with new additions such as Justin Timberlake as Arthur Pendragon and Eric Idle as Merlin. In the film, Prince Charming is plotting to overthrow Shrek and Fiona, who have in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chronicles Of Narnia (film Series)
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is an American film series and media franchise based on ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a series of novels by C. S. Lewis. The series revolves around the adventures of children in the world of Narnia, guided by Aslan, a wise and powerful lion that can speak and is the true king of Narnia. The children heavily featured in the films are the Pevensie siblings, and a prominent antagonist is the White Witch (also known as Queen Jadis). The franchise also includes short films, digital series, and video games. From the seven books, three were adapted—''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005), '' Prince Caspian'' (2008), and ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' (2010)—which collectively grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. The first two films were directed by Andrew Adamson and the third film was directed by Michael Apted. A fourth film was to be directed by Joe Johnston, but it was announced in 2018 that new adaptations would be made for Netflix. there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Hood (2010 Film)
''Robin Hood'' is a 2010 action film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Mark Addy, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, and Max von Sydow. Development began on the project in January 2007 with Universal Pictures' purchase of a spec script by Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris which would see the film focus on a more prominent and sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham. Casting Crowe in the title role, Ridley Scott was hired to direct later that same year. Rewrites delayed the film throughout 2008, with Brian Helgeland hired to rewrite the screenplay, which saw a refocus of the story to be about Robin Hood once again, abandoning the Nottingham angle entirely. Filming commenced in March 2009 throughout England and Wales. ''Robin Hood'' held its world premiere at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival the same day as its United Kingdom and Ireland releases. It was then released on 14 May 2010 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
