Hilary Cronin soprano
Will Todd piano
Will Todd Ensemble
Hertfordshire Chorus
David Temple conductor
Will Todd Mass in Blue
20th anniversary performance
Anton Bruckner Mass in E Minor
It is twenty one years since David Temple MBE and Hertfordshire Chorus commissioned Will Todd to write a jazz-style mass and twenty years since the first performance of Jazz Mass, later renamed Mass in Blue. With its upbeat jazz setting of the Latin mass it became one of the most successful commissions in modern choral music. Mass in Blue has been sung by hundreds of choirs across the world, often accompanied by Will and his band.
To celebrate the twentieth anniversary we are reuniting with Will on piano, accompanied by his ensemble and soprano soloist. A party not to be missed!
We pair this with Bruckner’s ground-breaking Mass in E Minor. Unlike any other 19th century liturgical music, it was written solely for wind band and eight-part choir. It combines the devout simplicity of expression of Italian Renaissance polyphony with Bruckner’s own expressive harmonies, using powerful combinations and contrasts of vocal and instrumental texture to create one of his finest works.
