Vox CoelestisConductor

Nigel Short

7.30pm Saturday 15 October 2016

St Cuthbert’s Church, Wells

In Aid of:The Reredos Project

www.voxcoelestis.co.uk

Tonight’s programme was formed from the idea of supporting StCuthbert’s Reredos project. The church buildings we walk into were builtto inspire worship, and use both obvious and subtle ways of achievingthat. Music composed for church worship has those elements intertwined.As you listen to the notes tonight, we hope you will hear reflections offour key architectural principles - either through the texts or through theway the notes are composed. The ‘architecture’ of music.

Long soaring lines and phrasesAnotonio Lotti (c. 1667-1740) - Crucifixus

Manuel Cardoso (c. 1566-1650)- Missa Pro Defunctis[Requiem & Kyrie]

Alonso Lobo - Versa est in luctumThomas Tallis (c.1505-85) - O Sacrum Convivium

Solid, rooted structuresAnton Bruckner (1824-1896) - Locus Iste

Jacob Obrecht (c.1458-1505) - Laudemus nunc DominumGiovanni Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) - Tu es Petrus

Luminance and sense of looking upwardKerry Andrew (b. ?) - A Nata Lux

Bernard Rose - We will rejoice in thy salvation

William Harris ( 1883-1973) - Holy is the True LightGustav Holst (1865-1934) - Nunc Dimittis

Eric Whitacre - Lux AurumqueJohn Rutter - Hymn to the Creator of Light

Ola Gjeilo - Northern Lights

Fluid, intricate and ornamentedGustav Holst (1865-1934) - Ave Maria

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) - Exultate DeoAdrian Peacock - Venite, Gaudete!

is an 8-part work, buildingfrom a single voice, part by part, until thefull choir is heard. After a section full ofquavers, reminiscent of the hammering ofthe nails, the work builds with long lines, tothe climax of a musical arch, which thengently subsides to reach its finishing point.is the most sublime example of 16thC choral writing, with long lines andphrases intertwining, and then falling, whilst others rise through theirdescent. follows in a similar fashion, but punctuatedby occasional semi-quaver runs, much like decorative roof bosses or pillarcapitals which punctuate arches. is theEnglish contribution to this set. He held posts at The Chapel Royal,Waltham Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, and their architectural beautywould not have been lost on him. This antiphon for Corpus Christi buildsand builds to a glorious climax on the last page - “nobis pignus datur”,before reaching its final peaceful rest.

was written by Bruckner forthe dedication of a new chapel at LinzCathedral in Austria, where he wasorganist. It translates to “This placewas made by God, a pricelesssacrament; it is without reproach” andthe music lifts itself to a fortissimo,

which would have resonated around such a building. is an extensive and complex work, written for the dedication

of a church, possibly in his native Netherlands. Its text states that “this isthe house of God and the gate of heaven”. It goes on to mention Jacob’sLadder, and that “he said - truly, this place is holy, and he set the stone upas a pillar”. - ‘Thou art Peter’ - is a text used by manycomposers. Palestrina takes the theme of Peter being ‘the rock’ on whichChrist builds his church, and constructs pillars of sound, exchangedvocally by upper and then lower voices. You can almost hear Palestrinadropping a large bunch of keys, musically, when all the voices jointogether each time, on the huge chords of “claves regni” - the keys ofheaven. Maybe his homage to church vergers?

Kerry Andrew wrote a very insightful set of eveningworship settings, of which is the firstmovement. Imagine monastic worship, with littlepools of light, punctuating the darkness.

was in charge of the music at Magdalen CollegeOxford for many years, and was also a reveredcomposer. 2016 is the centenary of his birth. Tonight’swork is a joyful hymn of praise, ending with “the Lordshall make my darkness to be light”.

looks heavenwards, “lending radience to themthat endured in the heat of the conflict”.

takes the Song of Simeon, sung at Evening Prayer, and featureshis belief that the infant Jesus would become ‘a light to lighten theGentiles’. This is followed by , a reflective, shimmeringshaft of musical light, focusing on its warmth. John Rutter wrote

for the dedication of the Herbert Howellsmemorial window in Gloucester Cathedral and features the sublimechorale section “Schmucke Dich” known to us as the hymn “Deck thyself,my soul, with gladness..........Light, who dost my soul enlighten.....…Through the gifts thou here dost give us, As thy guest in heav’n receive us”.

was written by Gjeilo after looking out from an atticwindow one Christmas, over a wintry lake under the stars, thinking about

how this ‘terrible’ beauty was so profoundly reflected in the northernlights.

Our final section reflect three decorativemotifs. , for upper voicesonly, has a constantly-flowing set of musicallines, sweeping across each page, painting richmusical colours. Then

is a joyful explosion of colour, with voicessetting off in places, almost like fireworks.

Finally, Adrian Peacock’s is a latin version of the Adventhymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. A seemingly relentless pace,framed with steadying lines, provides a riotous vision of colours,reminiscent of the finest stained glass windows.

Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has builtup an enviable reputation for his recording andlive performance work with leading orchestrasand ensembles across the world.

A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a memberof the world-renowned vocal ensemble TheKing’s Singers from 1994–2000. Upon leavingthe group, he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosicchoir that embraced his dedication to passionand precision. Tenebrae is the first-ever groupto be multi-nominated in the same category forthe BBC Music Magazine Awards (2012),securing the accolade of Best ChoralPerformance for the choir’s recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605.Under his direction, Tenebrae has enjoyed collaborations with orchestrasand instrumentalists of various musical genres and now enjoys areputation as one of the world’s finest choral ensembles. Nigel hasconducted Vox Coelestis since its formation over 10 years ago.

The group began as a one-off collaboration back in 2005, between NigelShort, Simon Filsell and some singing friends, to raise funds for an organappeal at Holy Trinity Church in Coventry. On the back of the success ofthat concert, and substantial persuasion, Simon agreed to continue withthe formula, and over £15,000 has now been raised for a variety ofcharitable causes. The singers come together each year, and are drawnfrom top cathedral, collegiate and chamber choirs from across the UK, andsing without a fee, funding their own travel and accommodation costs.Requests to perform have taken us to London, St Albans, Coventry,Portsmouth, Essex, Gloucestershire, North Yorkshire and Edinburgh.

- Amanda Abbitt, Cathryn Caunt, Karen Filsell, Jenny Hasnip,Bridget Howarth, Dawn Ponniah, Patricia Rees-Jones

- Julie Evans, Denise Fabb, Mara Goldstein, Elaine Gould, DebbieJohnstone, Annika Lindskog

- Simon Colston, Ed Coton, Mark Johnstone, Stuart MurrayMitchell, Keith Parker, Richard West

- Kevin Bailey, Simon Filsell, Simon Gaunt, David Rees-Jones, TomStockwell, Christopher Williams

THANK YOU……

To Patricia Rees-Jones, Judeth Saunders, the Churchwardens &congregation of St Cuthbert’s and to our singers - all of them voluntarilygiving their time and skills to enable this concert to happen.

In 1848 St Cuthbert’s church in Wells in Somerset rangwith the sound of chisels and hammers as buildersbusied themselves on a programme of renovation. Aslayers of crumbling old plaster were removed on theeast walls of the transepts, an astonishing treasureemerged. A jumble of brightly coloured sculpturalfragments – faces, pinnacles, biblical scrolls, crowns,

gleaming curls of hair – lay blocked into the walls.

In total, around 420 pieces of broken sculpture were found. These hadonce populated the two large stone altarpieces (or reredos) which were animportant focus for worship in the medieval church.

Although this remarkable collection has been recognised as one of themost important groups of medieval sculpture in an English church today,it has never – until now – been properly investigated and we still do notknow exactly how the two reredos would have looked.