The Elysian Singers
Director: Sam Laughton
Saturday 6th June, 7.30pm
This insightful programme celebrates the musical settings of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. It is unsurprising that composers have been drawn to set his distinctive poetry to music, and the Elysian Singers will present some of the most notable examples from the 20th and 21st centuries.
The very title of Benjamin Britten’s early collection A.M.D.G. is taken from the motto of the Jesuit order, of which Hopkins was a member, and the music is as rich as the poetry that inspired it. The choir will also perform settings by a diverse range of composers, including Samuel Barber, Alan Bullard, Bob Chilcott and Ian Stephens.
The première of a new work by David Lancaster, featuring Hopkins’ tribute to his own favourite composer, Henry Purcell, provides an opportunity to revisit some of Purcell’s wonderful music. There is also room for the very different poetry of E. H. Visiak in David Power’s quirky and imaginative settings.
Pre-concert talk (6.45pm):
David Lancaster will discuss his new work, Henry Purcell, written for the Elysian Singers. He will be joined by David Power to talk about his Four Visiak Settings.
With a complimentary glass of wine or juice.
Programme
Benjamin Britten: A.M.D.G.
Purcell: Remember not, Lord, our offences
David Lancaster: Henry Purcell (WP)
Alan Bullard: The Windhover (from ‘Choristers of Flight’)
Bob Chilcott: The Bethlehem Star
Ian Stephens: Pied Beauty
David Power: Four Visiak Settings
Alan Bullard: Spring Morning (from ‘A Year in a Day’)
Purcell: O Lord God of hosts
Samuel Barber: Heaven-Haven