PROGRAMMES
2024/2025
Program I - CHANT
Plainchant by Hildegard von Bingen: In principio omnes
Obrecht: Salve regina
Plainchant by Hildegard: O virtus sapientiae
Pärt: Magnificat antiphons
***Interval***
Plainchant by Hildegard: O ignis spiritus
Franco: Salve regina
Pärt: Da pacem
Plainchant by Hildegard: O ecclesia
Lassus: Nunc dimittis 'Il Magnanimo Pietro'
Victoria: Salve regina (a 8)
'There is only one theme underlying this programme, which is chant. We present this in three different ways: the 12th century interpretation of it by Hildegard of Bingen (these are her own compositions); the living Gregorian tradition as shown in these settings of the Salve regina and Nunc dimittis; and Arvo Pärt's reimagining of this tradition, partly in the Orthodox view. In particular there is his Da pacem, where the alto voice quotes a whole chant melody, running from start to finish of the piece. For a thousand years, chant represented all there was of 'classical' music. It went on to influence some of the greatest music ever written in its image.'
Program II - PALESTRINA in 2025
1. Palestrina & Lassus
Palestrina: Missa Ut re mi fa sol la
**Interval***
Palestrina: Laudate pueri
Lassus: Media vita
Palestrina: Tribulationes civitatum
Lassus: Timor et tremor
Palestrina: Tu es Petrus
The 500th anniversary of Palestrina's birth gives us the perfect opportunity to celebrate this most consummate of renaissance composers. From his time to ours he has come to represent an entire epoch of music, and to influence some of the greatest names from later centuries - Handel and Beethoven among them.
There would be many different ways to acknowledge his achievement. I have decided to choose one little-known but exceptional mass setting, from the 107 he wrote; and to present again one or two of his greatest motets. It seemed appropriate to put these motets alongside music by his almost-contemporary, Orlandus Lassus. Sometimes Lassus sounds like Palestrina, sometimes he doesn't. Either way the comparison is fascinating. Peter Phillips
2.Palestrina & Victoria
Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
**Interval***
Victoria: Dum complerentur (6)
Palestrina: Dum complerentur (7)
Victoria: Versa est in luctum (4)
Victoria: O sacrum convivium (4)
Palestrina: Magnificat Primi Toni (6)
Victoria: Magnificat Primi Toni (9)
3. Palestrina & Byrd
Palestrina: Missa In te domine speravi (22 without the Creed)
**Interval***
Palestrina: Ad dominum cum tribularer (5)
Byrd: Ad dominum cum tribularer (11)
Palestrina: Domine in virtute (7)
Byrd: Tribue domine (12)
4. Palestrina & Pärt
Palestrina: Surge illuminare
Palestrina: Missa Brevis
**Interval***
Palestrina: Lamentations a 6 (Lectio III Sabbato Sancto - 10)
Pärt: Da Pacem (6)
Palestrina: Nunc dimittis (4)
Pärt: Nunc dimittis (6)
Pärt: Which was the son of...(8)
Program III - Darkness to Light
White, Robert: Lamentations II
White, Robert: Exaudiat te
Tallis, Thomas: Lamentations II
---Interval---
Parsons, Robert: O bone Jesu
Parsons, Robert: Ave Maria
White, Robert: Regina caeli
Byrd, William: All Saints Propers
The journey behind this programme is a familiar one: from darkness into light. Or, to put it in a more Christian way, from penitence into joy. This is an emotional journey, often associated with Lent and Easter, which has inspired some of the greatest sacred music ever written. Our first half is largely devoted to the mood of Lent, nowhere more beautifully captured than in the two English settings of the Lamentations, by White and Tallis, which we sing here. Both composers are masters at alternating the traditional words of lament with the greater reflection provided by the Hebrew letters, which punctuate the main text.
In the second half we join in worship of Jesus and Mary as they fulfill the Easter prophecy: Jesus in Parsons's magnificent setting of O bone Jesu; Mary in the Ave Maria and Regina caeli settings. The message of these pieces is then summed up in the complete cycle of Byrd's Propers for Easter Day - five motets which take us through the drama of the Crucifixion. Listen out for the fourth one, where in no more than a minute Byrd describes in music the shaking of the earth when Christ died - Terra tremuit.
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