The new music list is now available. It is not only the final list of 2017, but also the end of Cardoso450, a project that has been a constant companion since February 2016. Cardoso's 6-part Requiem was one of the works that encouraged the project into existence; it is fitting that it should be one of the final works we perform. But what of the rest?
Read more2017 Q2 music list
2016 Q4 music list published
Music for the Sunday 11.00am Mass until the end of the year is now available here. Our Cardoso450 project enters its second period of more intense activity during Advent and Christmastide, the 3rd Sunday of Advent coinciding with the 450th anniversary of Cardoso's baptism. Mass that day will be offered for the repose of his soul. With the predominance of Portuguese polyphony, the non-Cardoso flavours are kept deliberately strong, with music by Mozart, Reger and Langlais. The Romantic luxuriousness of Rheinberger's popular Cantus Missæ is balanced by the opulence of the 8-part motets by Palestrina and Philips. The highlight, though, is our performance on 15th October of Francisco Valls Missa Scala aretina for 11 voices and instrumental ensemble. This famous but infrequently performed work – a true Baroque masterpiece – provides a fittingly grand accompaniment for the Solemnity of St Teresa of Avila. The Choir will also be singing on 1st October for the feast of St Thèrése as we continue to celebrate important Carmelite saints as well as, through our Cardoso450 project, discover and explore important Carmelite music.
Hic est discipulus ille
Using a Motet as a basis for a Mass is a long-established technique used by the majority of composers in the Renaissance, taking either a Motet of their own or of another composer as a model, the latter being a mark of respect, an indication of the high esteem in which the first composer held the second. This Sunday offers the first opportunity in the Cardoso450 series of hearing this technique in action.
Read moreQ1 Music List 2016 published
The music list for January to March is now available.
This list concludes our focus on Tudor music during Advent and Christmastide with music by Byrd and Sheppard for the Epiphany. The Hassler O sacrum convivium is a firm favourite and we look forward to some works which are new to us - the Palestrina Ave Maria à8 from the Capella Giulia and Padilla’s Missa Ave Regina cælorum. The main focus of the list, however, is the commencement of our Cardoso450 project which runs through 2016/7. A brochure with information about Cardoso and his contemporaries, and a complete overview of all the repertoire to be performed will be available shortly. The project has periods of more intense activity through Lent/Easter and Advent/Christmas and then punctuates the Sundays during the rest of the year. With over 45 Masses and 120 Motets, the project will give a unique view of Cardoso’s works, programming them within a liturgical context and alongside works by other Portuguese composers.