7pm Saturday 11 October 2014 • St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh

With the generous support of:

Charity Reg No: 207994 (England and Wales)SC038731 (Scotland)

Vox Coelestis • Conducted by Nigel Short

• In Memory of our dear friend Michael Porter •

WELCOME to tonight’s concert. At one of the choir’s first concerts, a lady whohad never been to a choral concert before, brought a friend along with her. Wesang the wonderful Requiem, by Herbert Howells, written in memory of hisyoung son, who died aged nine. The lady wrote to us after the concert to saythat her friend, who was suffering from terminal cancer, died the followingmorning, but saying how much she had loved the singing in our concert. Wenever know who we touch through music.

Having seen first hand the wonderful care undertaken at the Marie CurieEdinburgh Hospice, I knew that I had to ask my singing friends, once again, totravel across the UK to perform for this charity. As usual, the response was aresounding “yes”, and I find myself indebted to them once more. I also need tothank Gemma Gavin at The Roxburghe Hotel for the generous support inhosting the singers this weekend. Finally, a thank you to Michael Harris, theDirector of Music here at St Giles’ Cathedral, for his practical help in stagingtonight’s performance.

Simon Filsell

The music tonight has been chosen with this wonderful building in mind, andits exceptional acoustic. The singers will move around the building, and therewill be times when they will not be in sight. We hope this will help to focus onthe music and its sound. The lighting will also be slightly less than you mightbe used to in a concert, but hope this enhances the combination of the buildingand the music.

• PLEASE ensure your mobile phone is silenced •

It would be appreciated if you could reserve applauseuntil the end of each half

Thank you

Matin Responsory - Giovanni de Palestrina (b.1525)The evocative traditional start to many candlelit Advent Sunday services. Theuse of single voice cantors, groups of unison voices and the full choir gives realdrama to Palestrina’s work. As the sounds appear from all parts of thecathedral, imagine hearing this in St Peter’s Rome, where Palestrina was incharge of the Papal Choir.

Come Thou Redeemer - Michael Praetorius (b.1571)Translated from a latin text c.397, another traditionally Advent-performedwork, anticipating the birth of Christ - “Come, Thou Redeemer of the earth, andmanifest Thy virgin birth: Let every age adoring fall; Such birth befits the God ofall……”

Kyrie & Agnus Dei - Josef Rheinberger (b.1839)This Mass is for 2 separated choirs, occasionally singing together, butfrequently answering each other in canon. Rheinberger builds the sound,sometimes having pulled it back to almost nothing, producing both dynamicdrama and poignantly-rich harmonies.

Tantum Ergo - Anton Bruckner (b.1824)Bruckner wrote eight settings of this text. The translation, “Hence so great aSacrament; Let us venerate with heads bowed” leads Bruckner to thiscontemplative two-verse setting, with typically chromatic turns.

In Manus Tuas - John Sheppard (b.1515) • In Pace - John Blitheman (b.1525)These next 2 works are frequently sung in the monastic service of Compline.The first, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit” and the second “Inpeace and into the same I shall sleep and rest” prepare for the end of the day.

Funeral Ikos - John Tavener (b.1944)This work features first mens voices, and then ladies voices, to introduce eachverse, with the full choir singing the Alleluias each time. The words are takenfrom the funeral service for priests and, despite the subject, containsconsistent hope and faith: “why these bitter words of dying?……we go forth onthe path eternal….there is light eternal yonder…..there is paradise wherein everysoul of Righteous Ones rejoiceth”.

View Me Lord - Richard Lloyd (b.1933)This motet, in verse form, takes the words of Thomas Campion. A beautifullyreflective work, written in 1959 in memory of Lloyd’s mother, ending with “Inthy word, Lord, is my trust, To thy mercies fast I fly; Though I am but clay anddust, Yet thy grace can lift me high”. Each verse will be heard from a differentspace, sung by each choir.

Her Sacred Spirit Soars - Eric Whitacre (b.1970)St Cecilia, the subject of this work, is the patron saint of musicians. Whitacretakes the contemporary words of Charles Silvestri - a Hymn to St Cecilia - andsets them for double choir, in canon. The first phrases rise, musically, to reflectthe title of the work - “Her sacred spirit soars o’er gilded spires, and breathes intocreative fires a force, in well-tuned chants and chords of countless choirs.......... Oshall Cecilia, or shall Goddess Muse reach then to me across eternal skies?”

• INTERVAL - 15 minutes •

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Venite Gaudete- Adrian PeacockAdrian Peacock is a professional singer and record producer, counting TheKing's Singers, Tenebrae, Polyphony and The Swingle Singers amongst hisclients. This work is the latin version of the Advent hymn, “O Come , O ComeEmmanuel”.

Bogoroditse Dyevo - Sergei Rachmaninov (b.1873)This version of the homage to Mary, the “Ave Maria”, is one of sixteen piecesmaking up the “All-Night Vigil” (also known as the “Vespers”), written in 1915.This work is typical in displaying the immense drama of the All-Night Vigil,from the tremendously atmospheric pianissimo opening, through a thrillingfortissimo as the basses rejoin the other voices, towards the almostimperceptible closing chords which disappear into the corners of the building.

Es ist ein ros entsprungen - Jan Sandström (b.1954)This is the first of a pair of works tonight which feature a separated quartet.Sandström sets this familiar Advent text extremely effectively for a wordlessunderlying chorus, with the hymn tune layered on top.

Hymn to the Virgin - Benjamin Britten (b.1913)Britten, writing this work aged only 16, uses the conversational style of adouble-choir, with the quartet having the words in latin, almost as an echo ofboth the main choir’s words and music: “Of one that is so fair andbright……Velut maris stella”

There is no Rose - Andrew CarvelAndrew, one of our tenors, is an organ scholar in Edinburgh, and this piecewas premiered in 2012. It takes the familiar verse format of these Adventwords, sensitively working a different feeling and format in each verse. “Thereis no rose of such virtue, as is the rose that bare Jesu”

Notre Père - Maurice Duruflé (b.1902)Duruflé was a traditionalist and opposed the Vatican's decision to require theuse of the vernacular in liturgy. Despite this, he composed this beautifulsetting of the Lord's Prayer for the choir at Saint-Étienne.

Ubi Caritas & Tantum Ergo - Maurice Duruflé (b.1902)These 2 works are part of ‘Quatre Motets’. The first, Ubi Caritas, was sung onMaundy Thursday as an antiphon for the washing of the feet. The secondpiece takes the words normally sung at the Benediction in the Roman Catholicmass, venerating the Host. Duruflé uses his much-favoured basis of plainsongthemes, woven through these beautiful motets. The sustained musical flowachieved, propels the choral sound around the cathedral’s acoustics.

Tu es Petrus - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (b.1524)This is the 6-part version of his setting of these words. The pillars of soundclearly point to St Peter as the ‘rock’, and the whole work has a reassuringfeel. Listen for the musical emphasis on “claves regni” - the “keys of heaven”.“Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church”

Hail Gladdening Light - Charles Wood (b.1866)With words by John Keble, this work has a huge dynamic range, with the twochoirs frequently in ‘conversation’ with each other. Listen out, in the quietmiddle section, for “the lights of evening” entering one by one, as if beingswitched on, before the glorious, thrilling finale.

We have kept our ticket price tonight deliberately low, for this quality ofconcert. If you enjoyed tonight’s performance,please consider making a donation, on your wayout, to the Marie Curie Edinburgh Hospice. TheHospice offers specialist care for people livingwith a terminal illness and support for families,completely free. The in-patient unit has 25 beds, a fully-equipped day servicedepartment and some services are offered in patients’ homes.

Thank you very much

www.mariecurie.org.uk

Nigel Short

A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a memberof the world-renowned vocal ensemble TheKing’s Singers from 1994 – 2000. On leavingthe group, he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosicchoir that embraced his dedication to passionand precision. Tenebrae is the first ever groupto be nominated twice in the same categoryfor the BBC Music Magazine Awards, taking theChoral Award in 2012 for their recording ofVictoria’s Requiem, 1605. Under his directionand vision, Tenebrae has enjoyedcollaborations with orchestras andinstrumentalists of various musical genres, and now enjoys a reputationas one of the world’s leading choirs.

To date, Nigel has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, theChamber Orchestra of Europe, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the EnglishChamber Orchestra, the Aurora Orchestra, and for Baroque repertoire,the English Concert. He has directed the London Symphony Orchestra ina live recording of Fauré’s Requiem, which was shortlisted in the choralcategory of the 2014 Gramophone Awards, having been described as“the very best Fauré Requiem on disc”. Nigel is also Director of Music atSt Bartholomew the Great, London – home to a small consort of eightprofessional singers.

We are very grateful to Nigel for his continued support of the VoxCoelestis choral venture, since conducting the first concert almost 10years ago.

Vox Coelestis

Vox Coelestis is a unique choir. It was formed in 2005 as a one-off group,consisting of friends of Simon Filsell. The original concert raised funds forthe organ appeal at the church where he had been Head Chorister - HolyTrinity, Coventry. Simon contacted a friend he had known since hischorister days, Nigel Short, and he generously agreed to conduct thegroup. After the tremendous success of that concert, and subsequentpersuasion, it was decided we would establish ourselves as a purelyfundraising group, dedicated to using the enjoyment of the highest-quality singing, in prestigious venues, for entirely charitable purposes.We have now sung 11 concerts and raised over £14,000 for charities. Weexist purely to raise money for charities, and perform to the very higheststandards. Our singers sing in the top cathedral & chamber choirs acrossthe UK, and give of their time and talents without fee. Only through thisgenerosity can we achieve so much for our charities. As we approach our12th concert in 10 years, we have raised over £14,000 for charities.

SOPRANOAmanda AbbittCathryn Caunt

Julie EvansKaren Filsell

Jenny HasnipBridget Howarth

Julie LeavettDawn Ponniah

TENORAndrew CarvelSimon ColstonStuart Mitchell

Keith ParkerWilliam Taylor

Harold ThalangeRory Wilson

ALTOFrancesca Caine

Denise FabbMara Goldstein

Elaine GouldSarah Lucy Penny

Simon Rendell

BASSKevin Bailey

Peter Da CostaSimon Filsell

Jonathan LaneDavid Rees-Jones

Tom Stockwell

The Singers

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