Music Director: Elisabeth Croft Saturday 24th June, 7:30 pm Holy Trinity Church, Cookham
CANTORUM CHOIR Patron Ralph Allwood MBE Sponsor Aspen Worldwide C antorum Choir is a dedicated and talented choir of approximately forty voices, based in Cookham, Berkshire. Under the directorship of Elisabeth Croft, the ensemble continues to earn itself a reputation as one of the leading chamber choirs in the area. Cantorum boasts a wide-ranging repertoire and performs professional-quality concerts throughout the year. It is a great pleasure to announce that the already acclaimed young composer Alexander Campkin is now working with us as Composer in Residence. We are currently commissioning our first new work from Alex, which we look forward very much to including in our Autumn Concert. We were also delighted to sing his glorious choral motet True Love at our Valentines event in February. You may also like to know that three years ago, in the Choir of the Year 2014 competition, Cantorum was placed 5th nationally in the Adult Choir category. Last June, we entered the regional auditions for Choir of the Year 2016. We were delighted to go through to the National Selection round, with the judge commenting: That was absolutely sensational! Soprano Julia Bentley-Dawkes, Kathy Bragg Kate Cromar, Louise Evans Kirsty Janusz, Sandy Johnstone Jenny Knight, Hilary Monaghan Louise Smyth, Joy Strzelecki Deborah Templing, Philippa Wallace Alto Celia Armstrong, Jill Burton Jayne Chapman, Sarah Evans Anne Glover, Angela Plant Elspeth Scott, Chiu Sung Lorna Sykes, Gill Tucker Tenor Anthony Dowlatshahi, Philip Martineau Peter Roe, Malcolm Stork John Timewell Bass Derek Beaven, John Buck Arthur Creswell, Mike Creswell Gordon Donkin, David Hazeldine Paul Seddon 2
Elisabeth Croft (née Toye) Music Director E lisabeth was born and raised in Cardiff. She graduated with a music degree from the University of Birmingham and then went on to gain an entrance award to study singing at the Royal Academy of Music, from where she graduated with Distinction in 2004. After a number of years as a professional singer, she became a full time vocal coach and choral trainer. For ten years, she worked for Berkshire Maestros; she founded several new choirs and was the director of Berkshire Young Voices from 2013 to 2016. She is currently Principal Director of Cantorum Choir and Thames Valley Chorus and is Head of Singing at Bradfield College. During 2017 she has also been directing the National Youth Training Choir of Wales. Jozef Janik (Continuo) Assistant Music Director J ozef has a BA in music from Zilina Conservatoire, and a Postgraduate Diploma with MA in Music from the Royal Academy, where he studied with Patsy Toh. He has given concerts in Austria, Sweden, France, Poland, England, Japan, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. His list of awards includes First Prize in the International Piano Competition in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Recent concert venues feature The Forge in Camden, St. James Piccadilly and the Paris Conservatoire. C Victoria Stapleton Violin Rebekah Frost Viola Vanessa Gynn Violin Jude Barnby Cello omprising the talents of four young professional musicians, Akina Strings provides captivating musical entertainment for weddings, corporate events and other special occasions across Berkshire and the south east of England. Areas covered by the ensemble include Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. The group was established in 2010 by four versatile young string players with many years experience of successfully performing at high profile events with other professional groups in the UK and beyond. Akina Strings Members have appeared at many prestigious concert venues including The Royal Albert Hall, Buckingham Palace, The Purcell Rooms and the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Particular recent performances by the quartet include entertaining newlyweds George and Amal Clooney at the UK celebration of their marriage at Danesfield House Hotel and Spa, performing at the Royal Residence Frogmore House and a four day corporate residency at the 2014 & 2015 Royal Henley Regatta. 3
Four Coronation Anthems George Frideric Handel (1685 1759) I Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king. And all the people rejoiced and said: God save the king, long live the king, may the king live forever, Amen alleluia amen! II Let thy hand be strengthened and thy right hand be exalted. Let justice and judgement be the preparation of thy seat! Let mercy and truth go before thy face! Alleluia! III The king shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord! Exceeding glad shall he be of thy salvation. Glory and worship hast thou laid upon him. Thou hast prevented him [anticipated his needs*] with the blessings of goodness and hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head. Alleluia! IV My heart is inditing [composing a speech*] of a good matter; I speak of the things which I have made unto the king. (Quartet: Louise Smyth Soprano, Jill Burton Alto, Peter Roe Tenor, Derek Beaven Bass) King s daughters were among thy honourable women. Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in vesture of gold; And the king shall have pleasure in thy beauty. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers. * denotes literal meanings of Handel s text, which he adapted from both the King James Bible and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. NB These are not necessarily in line with modern translations of the Hebrew original. 4
Allegro & Presto from Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G J S Bach (1688 1745) INTERVAL Pimms and soft drinks will be available Gloria Antonio Vivaldi (1678 1741) Gloria in Excelsis Deo Et in terra pax hominibus Laudamus te (Kate Cromar, Sandy Johnstone Soprani) Gratias agimus tibi Dominus Deus, Rex coelestis (Kirsty Janusz Soprano) Domine Fili unigenite Domine Deus, Agnus Dei (Anne Glover Alto) Qui tollis peccata mundi Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris (Angela Plant Alto) Quoniam tu solus sanctus Cum Sancto Spiritu 5
W hat more festive on a summer s evening than to commemorate the Sapphire Jubilee year of a remarkable woman Queen Elizabeth II with two great musical outpourings of joy: Handel s Coronation Anthems and Vivaldi s Gloria. The Four Anthems were written in late 1727 for the Westminster Abbey coronation of George II and Queen Caroline. Seventeen years previously, Handel had arrived in England as a celebrated young composer of twenty-five with ambitions to launch Italian opera here in London. If the project initially seemed an enormous gamble, it paid off handsomely in the event. Beginning with Rinaldo (1711), Mr Hendel as the German pronunciation of his name sounded to English ears wrote a string of London opera hits in the Italian style, often importing the most famous Italian stars to appear in them. Despite the language barrier, the fashion for these lavish spectacles lasted fully two decades, and Handel s dazzling success kept him wealthy, highly respected and ready to benefit from royal patronage. George I, at whose special request he composed the Water Music, granted him naturalised British status as one of the last acts of his reign; and George II, immediately on his accession, insisted that Handel compose four anthems for his coronation. Handel complied to some extent with tradition the text for Zadok the priest had been part of the English ritual since AD 973 but chose for himself the quotations used in the subsequent anthems. As to the settings, perhaps too much has been made of the distinction between Handel s operatic style and his ceremonial works and oratorios. Handel s sound has a consistent and characteristic translucency whatever he writes, and there are plenty of exuberant triumphal passages in the operas. And what comes across so effectively in a chamber performance such as ours is, of course, his glorious dance-like energy. I t seems hard to imagine that such a perennial favourite as Vivaldi s Gloria has only been in the choral repertoire since 1939. Prior to that date, the score one surviving copy in Vivaldi s own hand lay undiscovered and unperformed for over two hundred years. Antonio Vivaldi (nicknamed the red priest on account of his bright red hair) was almost unbelievably prolific and, in his own lifetime, enormously influential both as a composer and a violin virtuoso. Like Handel, he wrote music in all genres, including perhaps surprisingly some forty operas, now only very rarely performed. Opinions vary as to whether Handel s development during his youthful Italian period owed anything to Vivaldi, but there can be no doubt that much of J S Bach s output, even including such monumental projects as the St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion (which Cantorum will be performing in Eton College Chapel on Good Friday 2018), profited from a close study of some of Vivaldi s very numerous concertos and arias. The Gloria itself can be dated to the years 1713 1717, when Vivaldi was famously in charge of the amateur women s choir and orchestra at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. It is likely that the piece was written for a mass (perhaps with imported male voices) to celebrate the Venetian Republic s defeat of Ottoman Turkish forces in 1716, although no details of the occasion can be established with certainty. The Ospedale della Pietà, on the other hand, is well documented and was by Vivaldi s time a legend in its own right. Founded as a charitable home for abandoned children, it had effectively become a female music academy of high repute. Visitors were attracted from far and wide to hear its wonderfully accomplished young instrumentalists and singers (half-concealed on the balconies behind pierced ornamental screens) perform the demanding works especially composed for them. Tonight, we shall hope to emulate them and in full view! 6
THIS YEAR S CHOSEN CHARITIES C antorum Choir endeavours to support two specially chosen charities each year with a donation from our proceeds. The aim is to make the choices of particular relevance to the area or to members of the choir. This year we are pleased and proud to be supporting: Hearing Dogs for Deaf People We train clever dogs to help deaf people. That s what we do in a nutshell we train dogs to alert deaf people to sounds they would otherwise miss simple sounds that many people take for granted like the doorbell, alarm clock and even danger signals like the fire alarm. Being aware of these thanks to a hearing dog makes a real difference to deaf people s lives. Hearing dogs bring independence, confidence and companionship. Our dogs have even saved lives! Help Musicians UK Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians of all genres, from starting out through to retirement. We help at times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity, giving people the extra support they need at a crucial stage that could make or break their career. We offer practical, positive support to emerging, professional and retired musicians whatever the genre. Music is a wonderful gift, but being a musician is a uniquely demanding career. 7
Future Cantorum Concerts: Date: Saturday 14th October 2017 Event: Venue: Vaughan Williams Mass in G Minor Alexander Campkin World Première of a new work All Saints Church, Marlow SL7 2AA Date: Saturday 16th December 2017 Event: Venue: Traditional Christmas Concert Holy Trinity Church, Cookham SL6 9SP Date: Good Friday 30th March 2018 Event: Venue: J S Bach St John Passion Eton College Chapel SL4 6DW Grateful thanks are due to: Robert Jones, rehearsal deputy and accompanist The Stationery Depot, Cookham Rise Parade All others who have helped in the production of this concert And thanks to you, our audience, for your continued support! If you would like to be on our mailing list, please email us: info@cantorumchoir.org.uk If you or your organization would like to consider sponsoring Cantorum Choir in some way, then please call us on 07711 056661 to discuss the various options Cantorum Choir @cantorumchoir www.cantorumchoir.org.uk info@cantorumchoir.org.uk Cantorum Choir Registered Charity no. 1136210 8