Tarik O’Regan explores Irish legend in a new hour-long work commissioned by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland. The piece, an extension of his 2008 NCC commission The Spring, sets extracts from the 12th century Acallam na Senórach (Tales of the Elders) in Irish and English. The choir’s Artistic Director Paul Hillier will conduct the world premiere in Dublin on November 25. Meanwhile, O’Regan has turned to poetry by WB Yeats and Edward Thomas in Solitude Trilogy for chorus, harp and strings, to be premiered by Vancouver Chamber Choir on November 5.
John Joubert has been commissioned by Cappella Novocastriensis to write a new piece in celebration of the Newcastle chamber choir’s fiftieth anniversary. Pilgrimage Song, for baritone solo and choir, sets a poem by Stephen Tunnicliffe on the life of St Cuthbert and will be premiered on November 13 at St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.
The premiere of A Westminster Te Deum by Richard Blackford with commemorate the 450th anniversary of the foundation of London’s Westminster School. Scored for choir, brass ensemble and organ, the piece will be performed by pupils of the school at a service held in Westminster Abbey on November 19.
Barry Wordsworth will conduct the Brighton Festival Youth Choir and Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra in the first performance of Four American Carols by Richard Rodney Bennett at the Brighton Dome on November 21. Scored for unison high voices, the carols - A Child of God, I wonder as I wander, Away in a manger and Rise up, shepherd, and follow – can be performed with piano or string orchestra accompaniment.
Requiem canticorum by James Whitbourn receives its premiere on November 5 at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, where it will be performed by Westminster Williamson Voices conducted by James Jordan. A five-movement work of around 14 minutes, the piece can be performed individually or combined with movements from Whitbourn’s popular Son of God Mass to create a full concert Requiem. Both pieces feature a solo soprano saxophone alongside SATB choir and organ.
The annual choral sampler is now available online and in physical format. New works by Bennett, Hawes, O’Regan, Tavener, Whitbourn and much more can be heard here. Contact your local Music Sales office for a copy.
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