Spring Concert: Chilcott St John Passion and Bruckner Motets, with Chaconne Brass

Reading Haydn Choir

Chilcott St John Passion

This setting of St John's Passion by Bob Chilcott confirms his status as one of the world's most popular active choral composers. This hour-long work was first performed by Wells Cathedral Choir in 2013. The work combines thirteenth- and seventeenth-century English poetry with texts from the King James Bible. It follows the same structure as the Bach St John, with the story told by the tenor evangelist separated by passages from the chorus and from Pilate and Jesus, the whole being split with chorales and meditations sung by the choir, many of which are new settings of popular hymns.

Bruckner Motets

Bruckner wrote much music for the Roman Catholic Liturgy which is regarded as some of the finest such music of the last two centuries. He had a profound belief in the doctrines of the church and a confidence in his musical abilities which was not reflected in his personal life in which he was insecure and indecisive. The motets were produced throughtout his compositional career and show a combination of renaissance polyphonic technique with his own urgent chromaticism. The samples included in this concert derive from the latter part of his career (1861-1885) whilst a student of the famous Vienna music theorist, Simon Sechter, and latterly as a teacher of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory.

Chaconne Brass

Chaconne Brass was formed in 1984 and has established a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile ensembles.