SUMMER GOLD
Let Brass & Voices Resound!
Saturday 26th July 2025 at 7.00pm
Wells Cathedral
JOHN RUTTER Gloria
JAMES WHITBOURN 'Son of God' Mass
JAMES MacMILLAN Summae Trinitati
CECILIA McDOWALL Ave Regina
PAUL MEALOR Ubi Caritas
GERALD FINZI God is gone up
And music for brass
Somerset Chamber Choir
Bones Apart & Friends
Rachael Parvin soprano saxophone
Simon Hogan organ
Andrea Brown conductor
Sir John Rutter will be 80 this year! There is surely no better time, therefore, to celebrate the music of this much-treasured English composer, once described by Sir David Willcocks as “the most gifted composer of his generation”, with a performance of his exultant Gloria. Rutter’s music, with its singable melodies and satisfying key-changes, invariably goes straight to the listeners’ hearts and, since its first performance in 1974, the Gloria has been enormously and justifiably popular due to its brass fireworks and jubilant choral writing.
James Whitbourn, who sadly passed away relatively young last year, was known for his ‘boundless breadth of choral imagination’ (The Observer) resulting in compositions of brilliance and power. His ‘Son of God’ Mass is a gem; uniquely scored for choir, organ and soprano saxophone, it is a work that enables appreciation of the saxophone as a compelling, wordless soloist, often contemplative and mysterious, sometimes soaring and exuberant. The music is tellingly written throughout to suit the mood and meaning of the texts, and the final climactic Amen will leave no doubt as to the sincerity of this exceptionally moving music.
Completing this powerful presentation of Great British music for brass, organ and choir, are James MacMillan’s wow-factor motet with fanfares Summae Trinitati and Finzi’s arresting God is gone up. Unaccompanied works by Paul Mealor and Cecilia McDowall
