LONDON INTERNATIONAL A CAPPELLA CHOIR COMPETITION 21ST - 26TH APRIL 2014 INAUGURAL COMPETITION CELEBRATING THE 70TH BIRTHDAY OF SIR JOHN TAVENER IN ASSOCIATION WITH PETER PHILLIPS AND THE TALLIS SCHOLARS
LONDON INTERNATIONAL A CAPPELLA CHOIR COMPETITION 21ST - 26TH APRIL 2014 From 21st-26th April 2014 the inaugural London International A Cappella Choir Competition will bring together 16 choirs from around the world to compete in a series of public concerts at St John s Smith Square London. A jury of renowned experts, chaired by the founder and director of the award-winning Tallis Scholars Peter Phillips, will select a winning choir from each of the four preliminary rounds to compete in a prestigious final. A concert from the Tallis Scholars will open the week, the programme of which will reflect the LIACC s aim of promoting new choral music alongside the masterpieces of renaissance polyphony. 2014 s competition celebrates the 70th Birthday of Sir John Tavener, whose music will feature throughout the week and who will attend Saturday s final. In addition to the opportunity of winning one of the substantial cash prizes which are on offer - and further performance opportunities - each competing choir will be given discounted entry to the opening Tallis Scholars concert, free tickets to the competition heats and will be invited to give a further (publicised) concert at another prestigious London venue during their stay. Peter Phillips writes: I would like to encourage you and your choir to join in with this exciting new competition. The standard of singing promises to be of a very high quality, with a venue, judges and prizes to match. And in addition to the privilege of singing in the competition, there will be an opportunity to give a concert in one of the famous Wren churches in the City of London. Fame and fortune may await you here in this unique centre of world choral music!
SCHEDULE 21ST APRIL: OPENING CONCERT The Tallis Scholars Peter Phillips director Gibbons - Hosanna to the son of David Gibbons - O Clap Your Hands Parsons - O bone Jesu Tallis - Suscipe quaeso Tye - Peccavimus INTERVAL Tavener - Funeral Ikos Victoria - Vidi speciosam Tavener - The Lamb Victoria - Vadam et circuibo Tavener - As one who has slept Vivanco - Veni, dilecti mi 22ND - 25TH APRIL: 4 PRELIMINARY ROUNDS 26TH APRIL: FINAL JUDGES TO INCLUDE: Peter Phillips, director of the Tallis Scholars Alastair Hume, of the King s Singers To be joined in the final by Sir John Tavener PRIZES 1st Prize: 3000 2nd Prize: 1500 Audience Prize: 750
The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their nearly 60 recordings and 2000 concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music internationally. They perform in both sacred and secular venues, giving a hundred concerts in 2013 - their 40th anniversary year - across the globe. The group further celebrates this anniversary with two commissions from Gabriel Jackson and Eric Whitacre, and with special CD releases. In February 1994 the group performed on the 400th anniversary of the death of Palestrina in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, where Palestrina had trained as a choirboy and later worked as Maestro di Cappella. The concerts were recorded by Gimell Records, a label set up by Peter Phillips and Steve Smith in 1980 solely to record the group. Their ongoing project to record Josquin s complete cycle of masses, when completed, will run to 9 discs. The group continue to develop their exclusive sound and bring fresh interpretations to modern composers such as Pärt, Tavener, Whitacre and Jackson. Sir John Tavener was born in 1944. His musical education took place in the midst of Modernist fervor, a movement of which he felt an instinctive and increasing mistrust. The first work that brought him to widespread attention, The Whale (1966), was premiered in 1968 by the London Sinfonietta at their inaugural concert and was later released on The Beatles Apple Records label. Although many of his early works were inspired by the mystical aspects of Roman Catholicism, Tavener came to believe that the Western Christian Church was a corrupted and corrupting force. Following his conversion to Orthodox Christianity in 1977, Tavener produced a slew of works heavily influenced by Orthodox liturgical texts, Russian and Greek writers and themes, and the Orthodox tone systems. From the late 1990s his interest in the universalist philosophy, which embraces all great religious traditions, led him to embrace an even wider range of influences. In his most recent work Tavener appears to be entering a new phase of development, with terse, compressed musical statements replacing the grandeur of earlier pieces like the seven-hour Veil of the Temple (2002).
GENERAL INFORMATION LIACC is open to any a cappella choir of at least 16 voices REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS: First Round A programme of 25 minutes duration to include: 1. One work from each of the following two lists: RENAISSANCE: Byrd - Sanctus and Agnus Dei from Mass for Four Voices Lhéritier - Surrexit Pastor Bonus Palestrina - Tu es Petrus a 6 (prima pars only) Victoria - Dum complerentur (prima pars only) MODERN: Jonathan Harvey - The Angels Arvo Pärt - Tribute to Caesar Howard Skempton - Three Latin Motets Sir John Tavener - As one who has slept 2. An English (though not necessarily English-texted) piece from the period 1550 1750 The Final A programme of 30 minutes duration to include: 1. All of the following: Gibbons - Hosanna to the son of David Tomkins - When David heard Purcell - Remember not, Lord, our offences 2. One work by Sir John Tavener 3. One non-english-language work of any period (may be in Latin) 4. One piece in the choir s own language N.B All repertoire performed in the competition must be unaccompanied
APPLICATION PROCEDURE Each choir is required to forward the following: Completed application form (available from www.sjss.org.uk) Two recent recordings of the choir in renaissance and modern repertoire respectively (At least one of these should be video and the singers should be substantially the same as the competition participants) Full details of the choir s repertoire for both stages of the competition, including timings A short history of the choir and its director A recent photograph of the choir (suitable for publicity purposes) Successful choirs will be required to pay a participation fee of 50 per choir member A completed application form should be emailed to sam@sjss.org.uk before the deadline of 31st October 2013 St John s Smith Square, in the heart of Westminster, is one of the UK s best loved concert halls. Opened in 1969, following the conversion of a bomb-damaged Baroque Church, St John s is noted for having one of the finest acoustics in the UK. Home to regular Radio 3 broadcasts, the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, the St John s Christmas Festival and over 300 public events per year, St John s enjoys a warm and loyal following and is regularly visited by the UK s top chamber orchestras, choirs and period instrument groups, as well as providing a perfect setting for chamber music and song. Amongst those who regularly appear are the London Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, OSJ, Polyphony, The Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen. St John s also presents a very popular regular lunchtime concert series, focussing predominantly on emerging talent and an international organ series and is a preferred venue for many leading recording companies. ST JOHN S SMITH SQUARE CHARITABLE TRUST Registered Office: St John s Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA. Registered in England. Company No.3028678. Registered Charity No.1045390.