Concert preview: Gloria Tibi Trinitas - Music for the Tudors (Part Two)

Yorkshire Bach Choir February 2015

Part two of our survey of Tudor music is another feast of sound, offering the rare chance to hear the glorious sonorities of two masterpieces of English polyphony. 

We celebrate John Sheppard’s 500th anniversary with his extraordinary In Media Vita (In the midst of life we are in death), a haunting exploration of various texts, including the Nunc Dimittis. Please hear a short excerpt recently recorded in rehearsal at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York:

In addition to this work we perform Taverner's six voice Gloria Tibi Trinitas which is a monument of English choral music and arguably ranks amongst the very greatest of English choral compositions.

Peter Seymour our conductor comments: “After our successful performance of Tallis and Byrd in November 2014, this concert offers York audiences a chance to hear more music from the Tudor treasure trove. Sometimes overshadowed by Byrd and Tallis, the music of Sheppard and Taverner is no less important in terms of scale and musical inventiveness. The Taverner mass is a huge and virtuosic piece which the choir always relish singing".

Don’t miss your chance to hear all these glorious sonorities in the atmospheric acoustic of St Michael le Belfrey, York. 

The concert starts at 7.30pm on Saturday 16 May and tickets are priced at £14 and £12 concessions. Student stand-by tickets will also be available as usual on the evening of the concert priced at £5.00. Tickets are available in advance from this link: http://bit.ly/1G3DmLn

Artist Spotlight - Conductor Peter Seymour

Peter Seymour

Our associate ensemble the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists have just released a new recording of J.S. Bach St Matthew Passion BWV 244b (Early version).  To co-incide with this event we spotlight our conductor Peter Seymour.  In the interview he talks in detail the new recording which uses an edition of an early version of the work prepared by Peter himself. The recording is released by Signum Records and took place at York's National Centre for Early Music using solo voices - one voice per part - in place of the usual choral forces.  The interview gives us insight into his long running association with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and also touches on some of Peter's interests beyond Bach.     

This is Peter's first recording of the Matthew Passion but he has performed the work on countless ocassion with various groups.  I began by asking him why he keeps returning to this particular work: 
As with all great music, there is always something new to find to make it worthwhile and rewarding to perform them again and again. Sometimes this is new performing information; sometimes it is having to, or choosing to, find different solo teams (both vocal and instrumental) and seeing how they respond one-to-another. When we performed it live last year, the performance was considerably longer than our usual length and that brought a new perspective to the piece.

For this particular occasion you record and early version of the work (BMV 244b) which it is thought was performed on Good Friday.  What do you think a typical audience member could have expected as they walked into ‘Bach’s’ church on that particular day?

New recording released by Signum Records

Bach must already have amazed his performers and listeners in the first 12 months of his time at Leipzig. Pieces such as Magnificat and St John Passion, both composed in his first year there, would have presented a considerable musical challenge to the performers - though one I’m sure they could meet. His audience wouldn’t have heard anything like it, nothing with the vivid and colourful orchestration of Magnificat nor the sustained (operatic) drama of St Join Passion. So, two years after his first passion setting, they would have perhaps expected something special but perhaps nothing on the scale of the St Matthew either in its use of double choir and orchestra nor the sheer length of the piece. The decision to record Bach’s early version came from strong encouragement to do so from our principal oboist Tony Robson who had performed it in London earlier in the year. It wasn’t just for novelty value but also to hear some versions not usually heard such as Bach’s use of lute in the bass aria “Komm, süsses Kreuz” and a bass soloist for the opening aria/chorus of the 2nd part.

As a conductor, how do you approach a long day of recording?
The most important matter for me is the preparation. In this case there had to be not only the usual detailed recording schedule in order to use the time effectively and economically but before that I had had to spend 8 weeks editing the music from scratch. That was a wonderful learning time! I had to consider many matters - how accurate was the manuscript; how much did Bach edit the music in rehearsal and performance; the manuscript is a hurried version so what performance presumptions must Bach have made for the 1727 performance; how many of the changes made in his fair copy (written 9 years later when he had time to make more clear his expectations) would have been incorporated into the early version as a matter of course?

Did anything notable happen during recording sessions for this particular disc?
We all had to re-assess considerable questions - few of the singers had sung all the choruses one voice per part. Hearing the lute obbligato was an exciting moment and made us realise still more clearly what were Bach’s dynamic boundaries. In this early version there is no indication of what instruments should play in the chorales and so we decided to do some with voices and organ only; we’ve never tried that before and it was quite a revelation.
 
What is special about recording with the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists?
YBS has been performing both Passions, B minor Mass, Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio on a regular basis since the later 1970s; we have had the same principals since the mid-1980s so they have a familiarity with not only what I’m aiming for but also with one another’s playing. They have a very strong appreciation of one another’s playing abilities and styles so our individual and collective understanding of the pieces has matured over these years. The parts have been edited over those years too - even Bach’s fair copies expect many decisions of articulation, rhythmic alteration, ornamentation and so on; we have developed a consistent style. One notable area in St Matthew Passion is the role of the chorales - so often delivered without expression - where Bach sets false accents (i.e. on weak beats) to draw attention to important words and syllables. Another important area has been in the use of appoggiaturas in the recitatives; over the last few years we have developed a clear policy (based, of course, on primary source information) as to how the Evangelist, Christus and Pilate deal with these and it makes many telling points - Pilate’s comment/question setting up the structural centre of the piece, the soprano recitative (Er hat uns allen wohlgetan) and aria (‘Aus Liebe’).
 
What is the hardest thing about performing the Matthew Passion?
Performers of a piece so well known and loved have a duty, the privilege, to represent as faithfully and clearly as they can (at that time) what Bach expects. The line of responsibility from lyricist (St Matthew/Picander) to composer to performer to listener has to be clear and faithful at each point. In some ways the hardest thing is knowing that our understanding will change (although that’s also a very exciting thought!) and we are saying that what we record is our understanding at that moment.
 
Do you have a favorite moment/section of the piece?
The structural centre of the piece - the soprano recitative (Er hat uns allen wohlgetan) and aria (‘Aus Liebe’) - is a very moving moment. Bach makes it quite clear that it’s the principal message of this Passion by his structural chiasmus, by Pilate’s ‘rhetorical’ question, by his orchestration; the recitative states:” He has done good to us all. He gave the blind sight, the lame to walk…other than that, he has done nothing." The aria explains: “My Saviour is willing to die for love.”
 
Moving on from the recording, is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform/record yet but would like to?
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio would complete a very satisfying collection, having recorded both Passions and B minor Mass, essentially with the same performers. Also, Haydn’s great choral works, Creation, The Seasons and the wonderful late masses offer fantastic challenges but enormous satisfaction!
 

Peter in rehearsal with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists

Which living musician do you most admire?
There’s no individual I would wish to highlight but a large number of those I most admire have appeared on these Bach recordings. That is one of the great privileges of being the groups’ director (Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and Yorkshire Bach Choir); being able to choose what you perform with whom is an enormous privilege and honour. 
 
Who is the composer (dead or alive) that you’d most like to meet?
Well Bach has to be up there. I’d like to know more of what he was trying to communicate. But I would probably enjoy Haydn’s humour and life-affirming faith; a piece such as Creation (which YBS/YBC is performing in December 2015) offers more enjoyment to every player and singer and therefore the audience than any other.
 
What is your musical guilty pleasure?
I’d love to conduct La Bohème - or sing solo tenor (Rodolfo) - I regularly listen to and conduct Karajan’s recording (with Pavarotti and Mirella Freni) and they seem to follow my beat very easily...
 
What’s your earliest memory of music?
Singing songs in a car with my family but, more importantly, having piano lessons from the age of seven with a great teacher who talked of very little other than expression.
 
If you hadn’t become a musician, what other job would you have liked to do?
A cricketer.
 
What living person do you admire the most?
Geoffrey Boycott.
 
What keeps you awake at night?
Not much, but if I wake up I do worry that everyone will turn up for the rehearsals and concert. 

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
1972 when Yvonne and I got married and we were starting our careers, but only if I could know what I know now.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Bach, Handel, Haydn, Yvonne and the rest of my family.

The new recording is available to buy or preview from the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists website and from Signum Records.  It can also be downloaded via iTunes. Later in this year Peter directs the Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists in a performance of Dido and Aeneas on Saturday 20 June at St Michael le Belfrey York.

Artist spotlight - Bass-Baritone Jamie Wright

 

Jamie Wright

Our second featured artist for our forthcoming concert of Mozart and Haydn is Bass-Baritone Jamie Wright.  Jamie is also a graduate from the University of York and alumni of Yorkshire Bach Choir.  Recently awarded a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music he continues to study singing whilst singing with a number of ensembles. Jamie will be appearing in our performance of Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass as the bass soloist.



I began by asking Jamie to tell me a bit more about performing with Yorkshire Bach Choir:
Without a doubt, Bach Choir is one of the things about York I am most grateful for. While studying singing, it is easy to focus so much on future goals and to forget the reasons you decided to pursue it in the first place. Solo work is of course wonderful but there is a special something about performing fantastic music with a large group of people. It was that shared enjoyment and passion that really inspired me the most. I learnt a lot in my time in YBC, and am enourmously thankful for it.

I’m guessing you’ve performed Mozart Requiem before, what do you interests you about this particular piece?
I absolutely love the Mozart Requiem, It’s one of those pieces that you feel you can always go back to and find something you hadn’t caught before. Its a piece of core repertoire for a reason and its going anywhere any time soon, and as a first entry into a piece, not much beats the 'Tuba Mirum' for the Bass (Just as long as its not too slow!).

What do you most enjoy about performing in York?
It's a beautiful city and always a lovely place to come back to. The people are so much more friendly than in London too!

Musically, when have you felt the happiest?
Theres always that buzz when you first see an audience which is amazing. But I think for young singers it is so highly competitive, and easy to worry about whether your voice is ‘good enough’ or ‘in the right place’. When you step back and really just enjoy the music, special things happen and you can really connect with it without being hampered by anything else. My absolute favourite performances have been those when I can really clear my head and simply make the best music I can.

Who is the composer that you’d most like to meet?
J.S.Bach

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
A mixture of Classic Rock (Led Zeppelin mostly!) and electronic music.

Which leads me nicely into asking, which non-classical musician would you love to work with?
One of the great guitarists, Jimmy Hendrix or Jimmy Page I think. (We could have a trio called the three Jimmies!) They were the sort of performers who really understood the music they were making, I think popular music is missing that far more now.

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?
It’s easy to let singing take up every spare minute, particularly as a postgraduate. I love photography and its great to take a step back with something else that’s still creative.

How do you mostly listen to music?
Spotify. I know its hardly a great model of fairness for musicians but having that amount of music at your fingertips really is so invaluable, as a performer and just for something to get me through a long train journey! If theres music I know I will always listen to I will always download it or buy the CD.

What is your most treasured possession?
Embarrassingly, my phone. I use it for everything when I’m on the go.

If you hadn’t become a musician, what other job would you have liked to do?
Difficult one, I think as long as there is creativity involved I would be happy, I can’t imagine me doing anything behind a desk for too long! I did want to be a fighter-pilot for a long time, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough.

What keeps you awake at night?
Usually lines from whatever I’m learning at the time.

What would your super power be?
To be able to fly. (I’d save a lot on train fares.)

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Stephen Fry, John Cleese, Stephen Hawking, Meryl Streep and Boris Johnson

We look forward to hearing Jamie singing alongside other soloists Wendy Goodson (Soprano), Nancy Cole (Alto) & Jason Darnell (Tenor) in Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists on Saturday 14 March at 7.30pm at St Michael le Belfrey, York. 

Tickets are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/1B5i263
 
Further details on Jamie can be found on his website: http://www.jamie-wright.co.uk/ 

Artist spotlight - Alto Nancy Cole

Nancy Cole

Nancy is the alto soloist for our forthcoming performance of Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass on Saturday 14 March. Originally from Lancashire, she is an alumni of Yorkshire Bach Choir and former music student at the University of York.  Now studying at the Royal College of Music she features as a soloist in a brand new recording of Bach with Yorkshire Baroque Soloists for Signum Records.


We begain by discussing the Mozart Requiem and Nancy commented:     It's a piece clouded in mystery! It's fascinating to think that Mozart never heard the final work as it was left incomplete by his early death. It certainly heightens the drama and the passion. I have sung it many times, and it remains one of my very favourites.

Tell me more about your time in York...
I studied here for two years and so it's always wonderful to return. It's such a welcoming place to come back to. Each time I come back it never feels like I've been away that long. And not a tube in sight!

What is the hardest thing about performing?
After all the preparations, the best thing you can do in performance is trust you know what your doing, not think too much and really enjoy the sensation of performing. Sometimes that can be the most difficult thing, but can lead to the best performances.

Is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet but would like to?
I would love to perform the Sea Pictures with full orchestra one day. I've sung them with piano in the practice room but unleashing them with an Orchestra would be amazing.

Which living musician do you most admire?
I think Bryn Terfel is a fantastic personality. I love the way he sings classical music with such energy. He sings such a versatile amount of music, not just classical, without every compromising quality.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?
Music theatre. I've seen Wicked four times. 

Which non-classical musician would you love to work with?
I love folk music and how atmospheric it is. Dan Tyminski is one of my favourite artists - such a fantastic voice and spirit. 

When you’re not practicing or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?
After having resisted for many years, I like to exercise. Particularly with friends, like planning cycle trips or runs with obstacles...a group of us conquered a 'tough guy race' last year. And going to the theatre.

What keeps you awake at night?
Usually fragmented words of songs I'm learning going through my head. It can get very complicated in there.

What would your super power be?
The ability to remember everything you ever learnt.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Damien Lewis, Beyoncé, Joyce DiDonato, Emila Fox & Stephen Sondheim

We look forward to hearing Nancy singing alongside other soloists Wendy Goodson (Soprano), Jason Darnell (Tenor) & Jamie Wright (Bass) in Mozart Requiem and Haydn Maria Theresa Mass with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists on Saturday 14 March at 7.30pm at St Michael le Belfrey, York.
 
Tickets are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/1B5i263
 
Further details on Nancy Cole can be found on her website: www.nancyceciliacole.com
 
Nancy features on the new recording of JS Bach’s early version (1727) of St Matthew Passion (BWV 244b) which has just been released by Signum Records further details can be found here: Details of new recording

Back to Bach

Back to Bach

A very happy new year to all our followers! 

After such a memorable performance of Messiah in December we are excited that our first concert of 2015 - exploring the motets of the Bach femily - is now less than two weeks away. So, as we begin a new year of music-making in York, join us at St Michael le Belfrey on Saturday 7 February to hear the Bach family in all their variety and inventiveness. Famously, the motets of JS Bach have fired the imagination of audiences and composers. Indeed it was one particular composer - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - who is reported to have heard a Bach motet on a visit to St Thomas’ Leipzig and exclaimed: ‘What is this?’ before declaring (allegedly in very high spirits): ‘Now, there is something one can learn from!’.  From JS Bach’s outstanding examples of the genre we select Der Geist hilft, Komm, Jesu, komm and Fürchte dich nicht.
    

We also move beyond JS Bach to explore other members of the family. Below is a short performance (in rehearsal at the Jack Lyons Concert Hall) of Ehre sei Gott by JM Bach which is included in our programme.  It is a spirited, festive movement which celebrates the song of the angels to the shepherds and very appropriately closes in homage to a new year (For this the host of angels are glad / And greet us with such a new year):

    

Alongside these works we are presenting lesser known motets by various members - cousin, father-in-law, son - of the Bach dynasty.  JL Bach was a cousin of Johann Sebastian and we sing his Unsere Trübsal and Das ist meine Freude.  Also from JS’s father-in-law John Michael Bach (1648-1694) we will perform Dem Menschen ist gesetzt. Finally, we also explore four extraordinary motets by CPE Bach. Musically, these motets take us right up to the beginnings of the classical style.    

Tickets priced at £18 (£16 concession) are available either in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: http://bit.ly/18lemUb or on the door. Student stand-by tickets - priced at £5- are available at the door 10 minutes before the start of the concert.

Artist spotlight - Tenor Matthew Long

Matthew Long

Our tenor soloist for Messiah is rising star Matthew Long. As an alumni of Yorkshire Bach Choir, former chorister at York Minster and music student at the University of York, Matt has strong ties with the city of York. Now based in London, Matt has travelled the word with some of the world’s finest ensembles.  He has even released his own album recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road studios. We started by asking him to recall his experiences as a student at York and why he enjoys coming back to the musical city helped shape him.

Matt began by commenting:

As an undergraduate student, I think it can be difficult to have a perspective of how important and formative time spent working with good ensembles can be. I now look back at my time in Yorkshire Bach Choir with great fondness. To have been part of such high calibre music making as a 19/20  year old student was a real privilege and I owe a lot to the experience I gained whilst singing in YBC.

Have you had the opportunity to return to York since you left a few years ago?

I've come back to sing on quite a few occasions under different guises. With the Sixteen, I Fagiolini and as a soloist. It's always a joy to be here and see old friends and familiar faces and places.

Musically, when do you feel the happiest?

At the end of most concerts! That's not true [...] I spent a lot of my twenties worrying about how to get better at singing, how to get the better work, how to make enough money etc. It's a tough and hugely competitive world for a young singer. In the last few years I've taken a step back from this view and taken time to enjoy the other things in life that aren't music. 

More specifically I recently performed Britten's War Requiem for the first time. It was one of my most satisfying musical experiences to date. Also, working on my debut solo album, choosing repertoire, booking musicians etc. was a hugely rewarding and educational experience.

Which living musician do you most admire?

Hmm…. Difficult….The work of Mr Justin Bieber is underrated I feel.

Seriously, who is the composer (dead or alive) that you’d most like to meet?

J S Bach (obviously).

As a youngster, did you ever have a eureka moment performing a certain piece of music?

I have very strong memories of first performing Monteverdi's Vespers with YBC. I'd never heard music like it before. The intricacy, the power of the extended cadences, and the simple beauty of the monody. It switched a switch in me somewhere. I have gone on to perform it probably more than any other work.

When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?

Music can be all consuming and I've found this isn't always helpful. Taking a step back can help focus the mind. I've not been happier to be working in music than since I adopted this approach. I'm a keen follower of wildlife conservation and all things 'biodiverse' and green! I love to go walking in the wilder places we have in the UK, usually with my camera.

What is your most treasured possession?

My wife [Matt laughs]! She would hate that I've written that. No? Let's go with our cat, Florence. Although she owns me in truth. As does my wife.

What keeps you awake at night?

Often it's the music of the next or most recent concert I've been involved in.

What would your super power be?

Constantly reliable vocal cords.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

London 25,000 years ago. When Lions, Hyenas, Hippos and Elephants roamed the land where London now lies. That would be pretty cool. I wouldn't stay for very long!

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

J. S. Bach, Sir David Attenborough, Scarlett Johansson, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Dr Alan Rabinowitz ( look him up, he has quite a story), Jimmy Hendrix, Nigel Farage, Jo Brand…. yep, that should provide some interesting conversation!



We look forward to hearing Matt singing ‘Comfort ye’ and kicking off what will certainly be a very special performance of Messiah with Yorkshire Bach Choir, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists alongside a stellar line up of soloists. 

York Early Music Christmas Festival

Tickets are available in advance at the National Centre for Early Music by clicking here: bit.ly/1wBSQ63

The York Early Music Festival runs from 5-14 December and further details can be found here: http://www.ncem.co.uk/xmas

Further details on Matthew Long including details of his debut solo disc Songs of These Isles with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanist Malcolm Martineau and guitarist Rufus Miller can be found on his website: http://www.matthew-long.co.uk/ 

Introducing the YBC Concert Series 2014/15

YBC Concert Series 2014/15

Rehearsals began in earnest last Friday for our 36th Season of concerts and once again it promises to be a vintage year of singing. Our season will encompass a range of music from cornerstones of the choral repertoire - like Handel: Messiah & Mozart: Requiem - to a focus on Tudor music including some rarely heard pieces by Taverner, Byrd and Sheppard.  

By kind permission of All Hallows, Walkington. Harry Harvey 1970

We launch our concert series on Saturday 1 November with a choral blockbuster in the form of Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis. For the singer, Spem is the kind of piece that is so good that you when you get to the end you want to go back to the beginning and sing it all over again.  Well, we hope it is the same for the listener so we will perform it twice; once at the beginning of the concert and once at the end.  We will even perform it in two different formations culminating in the ultimate surround sound experience.  Alongside Spem we mark All Saints Day with some motets in Byrd’s most vigorous polyphonic style including the extrovert ‘Laudibus in Sanctis’ (Byrd’s colourful setting of Psalm 150). In a more contemplative vein will be Byrd’s evergreen Mass for Four Voices which ends with the tranquillity of his sublime setting of ‘Dona Nobis’. The concert will be the first of two exploring music for Tudors.

Turning to the rest of the season, December will bring Messiah featuring an acclaimed line up of soloists as part of the York Early Music Christmas Festival.  No season would be complete without music by J.S. Bach, and we begin 2015 performing his motets, along with those of other members of the Bach family, will be the focus of a February concert. As well as accompanying us for Messiah, the verve and precision of the Yorkshire Baroque Soloists will join us in March for Mozart’s Requiem performed alongside Haydn’s joyous Theresienmesse. Following this, in May the second part of our Tudor survey gives a rare chance to hear another two masterpieces of the English Renaissance as we perform Taverner’s Gloria tibi Trinitas and the unique, beautiful In Media Vita by anniversary composer John Sheppard which opens with the haunting words ‘in the midst of life we are in death’.  Our season concludes with high drama in the form of that most tragic tale of a Carthaginian queen as we present a concert version of Dido and Aeneas.    

All our concerts are performed in the glorious surroundings of St Michael le Belfrey a historic church which is right in the heart of York beside York Minster.  

Link to our 2014/15 concert brochure: http://bit.ly/1s8Hrde

Details of concert 1 November 2014: http://bit.ly/1tw6qma

YBC Concert reminder service: http://bit.ly/1nbRxIJ

Contact details:
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