Our Gala concert on Sunday 16th October in the Cadogan Hall celebrates our Music Director Peter Broadbent’s 75th birthday and his award of an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.
In two of the featured works, current JCS singers will be joined by former members to sing the Messe pour double Choeur by Frank Martin and movements from Francis Poulenc’s Figure Humaine.
The opening piece – O Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord – will be the world première of our own commission from our first-ever Composer-in-Association, Zoe Dixon
Michael Tippett’s Dance, Clarion Air – his contribution to A Garland for the Queen that celebrated Elizabeth II’s Coronation – has been sung by us several times and was requested by one of our Singers in this Platinum Jubilee Year.
Paul Reade, who died far too young 25 years ago, wrote two song-cycles for us in our early years. On some Island was part of the programme when we won what was then the Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition in 1990.
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s inventive and moving Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae commemorates the tragic loss of the ferry ‘Estonia’
Peter’s championing of Hungarian music has been recognised for some years, and one of their finest contemporary composers of choral music, György Orbán, also 75 this year, is represented by a very fine psalm setting.
In 2016 JCS and two other choirs commissioned Toby Young to write a piece and this movement from the 'Dancing Star' suite is a driving and passionate setting of a poem by Maya Angelou.
The Three London Songs written by Bryan Kelly to words by John Fuller are witty and sometimes acerbic commentaries on life in the 1960s, and Fruit Machine makes a lively and joyous ending to the half.
