It is not often that a choir can boast about the creativity of its own members, but St Peter’s Singers of Leeds is set to do so, and with good cause.
Award-winning poet Hannah Stone and emerging young composer Matthew Oglesby have created a new Requiem called Penthos, a 55-minute work scored for choir and orchestra, with alto and baritone soloists.
This visionary and inspirational piece will receive its first performance at 6.00 pm on 27 October at St. Michael’s, Headingley in Leeds, directed by Dr Simon Lindley, as part of the city’s centenary commemorations of the Great War Armistice. The concert also features music by Mauersberger and Beethoven.
Following broadly the form of the Western Requiem Mass, but using a text re-conceived from the poetry of early Eastern Christian monks, Penthos is a meditation on conflict and reconciliation. The music seeks to evoke a broad sense of spirituality, uniting early 20th century English and European influences with sonorities hailing from the rich traditions of the Eastern Churches, such as tolling Russian bells and Serbian chant.
St Peter’s Singers have created a dedicated website at penthos.uk where you can find out more and reserve your place at the concert.
