WANTED!
Patrons of Newport Philharmonic Choir
Many similar organisations and societies have the support of patrons and we would extend to you an invitation to become a patron of Newport Philharmonic Choir. The cost of being a patron will be Ł15 a year and in return the holder will be entitled to a complimentary ticket to each of our main concerts, normally held in the Spring and Autumn and an invitation to other concerts organised by the Choir. Patrons would also be entitled to join in any social events organised by the Choir, and their support acknowledged in each concert programme.
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Cantemus
Cantemus started in 1992 as a group of individual singers formed for a one-off performance. However, they have continued to sing together and now, about 20 strong, under their conductor Robert Court they regularly perform music in a wide variety of styles from Renaissance to contemporary.
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Dorothy Adams Singers
The choir was founded over 20 years ago by the late Dorothy Adams Jeremiah, a well known and much respected personality among the local music-making fraternity. Since then the choir has continued to grow and prosper and now has over 50 members. The singers, under their present conductor, David Owen, are well known for their very wide ranging repertoire which covers the major works of Mozart, Haydn, Handel, Verdi and Purcell, across the spectrum, to Gilbert & Sullivan, Rodgers & Hammerstein and the Beatles. They are able accompanied by Philip Watson.
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Dorothy Adams Singers

The choir was founded over 20 years ago by the late Dorothy Adams Jeremiah, a well known and much respected personality among the local music-making fraternity. Since then the choir has continued to grow and prosper and now has over 50 members. The singers, under their present conductor, David Owen, are well known for their very wide ranging repertoire which covers the major works of Mozart, Haydn, Handel, Verdi and Purcell, across the spectrum, to Gilbert & Sullivan, Rodgers & Hammerstein and the Beatles. They are able accompanied by Philip Watson.

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The Welsh Sinfonia
The Welsh Sinfonia is an orchestra made up of professional musicians who reside in Wales. Its aims are to perform at the high level of the other professional orchestras in the principality.
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Overture Candide — Leonard Bernstein (1918-90)
Candide is one of the true curiosities in the history of the American musical theatre, for never has another show clung so tenaciously to a number of different "lives." It found its first success as an Original Cast Album, in which form it survived until — decades later — it could win acclaim in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway and on the opera stage. When this now-legendary music opened in New York on December 1, 1956, it was identified as a "comic operetta" based on an eighteenth-century satire by the French writer-philosopher-scientist Voltaire and was judged by Broadway critics to be "a truly notable event in the musical theatre" and "a triumph of stage arts." But Candide could not find a large audience, and it folded after only seventy-three performances. Some said Lillian Hellman’s book was to blame — too "intellectual." Wherever the finger pointed, it never turned toward Leonard Bernstein’s scintillating score. The Overture to Candide went its own way, finding a secure place among the favourite classical showpieces of many symphony orchestras.
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Overture Candide — Leonard Bernstein (1918-90)

Candide is one of the true curiosities in the history of the American musical theatre, for never has another show clung so tenaciously to a number of different "lives." It found its first success as an Original Cast Album, in which form it survived until — decades later — it could win acclaim in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway and on the opera stage.

When this now-legendary music opened in New York on December 1, 1956, it was identified as a "comic operetta" based on an eighteenth-century satire by the French writer-philosopher-scientist Voltaire and was judged by Broadway critics to be "a truly notable event in the musical theatre" and "a triumph of stage arts."

But Candide could not find a large audience, and it folded after only seventy-three performances. Some said Lillian Hellman’s book was to blame — too "intellectual." Wherever the finger pointed, it never turned toward Leonard Bernstein’s scintillating score. The Overture to Candide went its own way, finding a secure place among the favourite classical showpieces of many symphony orchestras.

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Gloria — Francis Poulenc (1869-1963)
Even now, a generation after Poulenc’s death, the importance of his choral and religious music is not generally recognised, despite the fact that it formed a substantial part of his output, and one to which the composer himself attached great importance. Mediterranean influence is uppermost in Poulenc’s sacred music. The Gloria has a bright, sunlit tunefulnes s and recalls Vivaldi — whose well-known Gloria seems to have served as a model for Poulenc’s in terms of layout, character and even, in the ‘Laudamus te,’ thematic material. The Gloria, commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation, was premiered in Boston in 1961 to great acclaim, and given shortly afterwards in Paris where it was equally well received and the work soon became absorbed into the standard choral repertory - a rare achievement indeed in the twentieth century. Poulenc’s abundant and appealing melodic gift is well to the fore, supported by apt and colourful orchestral writing. The six movements of the Gloria are all built from similar motivic material in which the intervals of a third, major or minor, and a semitone are prominent.
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Gloria — Francis Poulenc (1869-1963)

Even now, a generation after Poulenc’s death, the importance of his choral and religious music is not generally recognised, despite the fact that it formed a substantial part of his output, and one to which the composer himself attached great importance.

Mediterranean influence is uppermost in Poulenc’s sacred music. The Gloria has a bright, sunlit tunefulnes s and recalls Vivaldi — whose well-known Gloria seems to have served as a model for Poulenc’s in terms of layout, character and even, in the ‘Laudamus te,’ thematic material.

The Gloria, commissioned by the Koussevitsky Foundation, was premiered in Boston in 1961 to great acclaim, and given shortly afterwards in Paris where it was equally well received and the work soon became absorbed into the standard choral repertory - a rare achievement indeed in the twentieth century. Poulenc’s abundant and appealing melodic gift is well to the fore, supported by apt and colourful orchestral writing. The six movements of the Gloria are all built from similar motivic material in which the intervals of a third, major or minor, and a semitone are prominent.

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Carmina Burana — Carl Orff (1895- 1982)
"My collected works begin with the ‘Carmina Burana’." In these words Orff characterised the position in his stylistic development of the first work unmistakably from his pen, which received its premiere in 1937. "Carmina Burana" signifies "Songs from Benediktbeuern." In 1803, a scroll of about 200 Medieval poems and songs had been found in the library of the ancient Abbey of Benediktbeuern in Upper Bavaria. There were poems by the monks and wandering scholars in Medieval Latin; verses in Middle High German, and smatterings of Frankish. Carl Orff arranged a number of the poems into secular songs for soloists and choruses. This cantata for the stage is framed by a symbol from antiquity - the concept of the wheel of fortune perpetually turning, bringing alternate luck and ill-luck. And so the choral address to the Goddess of Luck ("O Fortuna, velut luna") both introduces and concludes the secular songs. This symbolic "happening," overshadowed by obscure Fate, falls into three sections: Man’s encounter with Nature, particularly with Nature awakening in spring ("Veris leta facies"), his encounter with the gifts of Nature, culminating in that of wine (" In taberna"); and his encounter with Love ("Amor volat undique") as reflected in a "Cour d’amours" in the old French or Burgundian tradition - a chivalric form of service to ladies and to love. The festive drinking scenes take place among uninhibited monks, to whom a roast swan appears to be a foretaste of Shangri-La.
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Carmina Burana — Carl Orff (1895- 1982)

"My collected works begin with the ‘Carmina Burana’." In these words Orff characterised the position in his stylistic development of the first work unmistakably from his pen, which received its premiere in 1937.

"Carmina Burana" signifies "Songs from Benediktbeuern." In 1803, a scroll of about 200 Medieval poems and songs had been found in the library of the ancient Abbey of Benediktbeuern in Upper Bavaria. There were poems by the monks and wandering scholars in Medieval Latin; verses in Middle High German, and smatterings of Frankish. Carl Orff arranged a number of the poems into secular songs for soloists and choruses.

This cantata for the stage is framed by a symbol from antiquity - the concept of the wheel of fortune perpetually turning, bringing alternate luck and ill-luck. And so the choral address to the Goddess of Luck ("O Fortuna, velut luna") both introduces and concludes the secular songs. This symbolic "happening," overshadowed by obscure Fate, falls into three sections: Man’s encounter with Nature, particularly with Nature awakening in spring ("Veris leta facies"), his encounter with the gifts of Nature, culminating in that of wine (" In taberna"); and his encounter with Love ("Amor volat undique") as reflected in a "Cour d’amours" in the old French or Burgundian tradition - a chivalric form of service to ladies and to love. The festive drinking scenes take place among uninhibited monks, to whom a roast swan appears to be a foretaste of Shangri-La.

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Requiem Mass, OP.89 — Antonin Dvorak
The first performance of this Requiem took place in Birmingham on 9th October 1891, to be followed by many others during the next few months in England, the Czech lands and America. Like Verdi's great Requiem (written seventeen years earlier), Dvorak's work was intended for concert performance only. The first movement begins with a syncopated chromatic motto theme which bears a distinct resemblance to the fugue subject of the second Kyrie of Bach's B Minor Mass; this idea reappears at several later points in the work, always of sorrowful questioning. Although the Dvorak work is not without its dramatic moments (the Confutatis maledictis providing one notable example), on the whole it exhibits a much more restrained approach to the text than the Verdi. Dvorak's innate lyricism is revealed in such movements as the Recordare and the Offertorium, and his orchestration also contributes to the introvert mood of the piece; there is a general reliance on dark, muted colours, with the cor anglais, bass clarinet and trombones much in evidence. " This Requiem setting may not abound in grand dramatic effects but the composer's sensitive response to the text reveals a profound awareness of the mysteries of human existence."
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Requiem Mass, OP.89 — Antonin Dvorak

The first performance of this Requiem took place in Birmingham on 9th October 1891, to be followed by many others during the next few months in England, the Czech lands and America.

Like Verdi's great Requiem (written seventeen years earlier), Dvorak's work was intended for concert performance only. The first movement begins with a syncopated chromatic motto theme which bears a distinct resemblance to the fugue subject of the second Kyrie of Bach's B Minor Mass; this idea reappears at several later points in the work, always of sorrowful questioning.

Although the Dvorak work is not without its dramatic moments (the Confutatis maledictis providing one notable example), on the whole it exhibits a much more restrained approach to the text than the Verdi. Dvorak's innate lyricism is revealed in such movements as the Recordare and the Offertorium, and his orchestration also contributes to the introvert mood of the piece; there is a general reliance on dark, muted colours, with the cor anglais, bass clarinet and trombones much in evidence. " This Requiem setting may not abound in grand dramatic effects but the composer's sensitive response to the text reveals a profound awareness of the mysteries of human existence."

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Overture to the Marriage of Figaro — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
In 1784, Mozart heard Paisiello's opera The B arber of Seville in Vienna and the next year he asked da Ponte to work out a libretto based on Beaumarchais' new play The Marriage of Figaro (a sequel to the Barber of Seville). This choice shows how Mozart was abreast of the times, for Figaro gives expression to the contemporary ideas of freedom and equality. Owing to its dangerous subject matter, the authorities had held up the production of Beaumarchais' play in Paris for three years, and when it was finally staged in April 1784 it was the sensation of the year, not only in France but the whole of Europe (it was banned in Vienna). Mozart understood particularly well the subject of hostility to an arrogant master for he had fought a similar battle against servitude in Salzburg. The Overture is a radiantly happy and vivacious work which, without having any direct musical connection with the opera, forms the most appropriate opening for what is to follow.
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Overture to the Marriage of Figaro — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In 1784, Mozart heard Paisiello's opera The B arber of Seville in Vienna and the next year he asked da Ponte to work out a libretto based on Beaumarchais' new play The Marriage of Figaro (a sequel to the Barber of Seville).

This choice shows how Mozart was abreast of the times, for Figaro gives expression to the contemporary ideas of freedom and equality. Owing to its dangerous subject matter, the authorities had held up the production of Beaumarchais' play in Paris for three years, and when it was finally staged in April 1784 it was the sensation of the year, not only in France but the whole of Europe (it was banned in Vienna). Mozart understood particularly well the subject of hostility to an arrogant master for he had fought a similar battle against servitude in Salzburg.

The Overture is a radiantly happy and vivacious work which, without having any direct musical connection with the opera, forms the most appropriate opening for what is to follow.

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Mass in G major D167 — Franz Schubert
The Mass in G Major is Franz Schubert's second setting of the Ordinary. It was written in a few days between 2 and 7 March 1815 and presumably given its first performance shortly thereafter in the Viennese parish church of Lichtental. The Mass has a chamber musical quality and the who le work is permeated with the spirit of song. The moving immediacy of its musical language has made it one of Schubert’s most popular settings of the Latin mass. The tripartite Kyrie exudes devotional warmth and intimacy. The beginning of the Gloria, which is also in three sections, is rather passionate in character, primarily on account of the ecstatic semi-quaver (sixteenth note) figuration in the orchestra. In the contrasting middle section soloists and chorus share in the plea for mercy ("Domine deus … miserere nobis"). The setting of the Credo is rather unuisual in that it is set homophonically in four parts throughout. This means every vocal line has the same rhythm and thewords are sung in block chords. Nonetheless, Schubert gives the musical setting of each individual setting of the Creed its own stamp, either through dynamic contrasts or the effective device of changes in instrumentation. The Sanctus, accompanied by striking orchestral rhythms, is also homophonic; whereas the "Osanna" is the only fugal passage in the whole work. Following convention, the cantabile and typically Schubertian Benedictus is set for solo voices. Unlike many other contemporary settings of the Mass, in which the Agnus Dei forms an energetic finale, Schubert ends the G Major Mass on a tender note.
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Mass in G major D167 — Franz Schubert

The Mass in G Major is Franz Schubert's second setting of the Ordinary. It was written in a few days between 2 and 7 March 1815 and presumably given its first performance shortly thereafter in the Viennese parish church of Lichtental.

The Mass has a chamber musical quality and the who le work is permeated with the spirit of song. The moving immediacy of its musical language has made it one of Schubert’s most popular settings of the Latin mass.

The tripartite Kyrie exudes devotional warmth and intimacy. The beginning of the Gloria, which is also in three sections, is rather passionate in character, primarily on account of the ecstatic semi-quaver (sixteenth note) figuration in the orchestra. In the contrasting middle section soloists and chorus share in the plea for mercy ("Domine deus … miserere nobis"). The setting of the Credo is rather unuisual in that it is set homophonically in four parts throughout. This means every vocal line has the same rhythm and thewords are sung in block chords. Nonetheless, Schubert gives the musical setting of each individual setting of the Creed its own stamp, either through dynamic contrasts or the effective device of changes in instrumentation. The Sanctus, accompanied by striking orchestral rhythms, is also homophonic; whereas the "Osanna" is the only fugal passage in the whole work. Following convention, the cantabile and typically Schubertian Benedictus is set for solo voices. Unlike many other contemporary settings of the Mass, in which the Agnus Dei forms an energetic finale, Schubert ends the G Major Mass on a tender note.

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The Banks of Green Willow — Butterworth
Butterworth’s family background was secure and well-connected (his father, trained as a barrister, was general manager of the North-Eastern Railway); his problem was how to move away from it and "be saved". To his generation, folksong seemed an answer, and he responded as a collector following closely in the footsteps of Cecil Sharp. The Banks of Green Willow (1913) is transparently based on folk tunes. Technically he has a meticulous way with his materials but it is also notably dramatic.
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The Banks of Green Willow — Butterworth

Butterworth’s family background was secure and well-connected (his father, trained as a barrister, was general manager of the North-Eastern Railway); his problem was how to move away from it and "be saved". To his generation, folksong seemed an answer, and he responded as a collector following closely in the footsteps of Cecil Sharp. The Banks of Green Willow (1913) is transparently based on folk tunes. Technically he has a meticulous way with his materials but it is also notably dramatic.

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Requiem — John Rutter
Requiem was written in 1985 and first performed in October of that year. Following the precedent established by Brahms and Faure, among others, it is not strictly a setting of the Requiem Mass as laid down in Catholic liturgy, but instead is made up of a personal selection of texts, some taken from the Requiem Mass and some from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The seven sections of the work form an arch-like meditation on the themes of life and death: the first and last movements are prayers on behalf of all humanity, movements 2 and 6 are psalms, 3 and 5 are personal prayers to Christ, and th e central Sanctus is an affirmation of divine glory.
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Requiem — John Rutter

Requiem was written in 1985 and first performed in October of that year. Following the precedent established by Brahms and Faure, among others, it is not strictly a setting of the Requiem Mass as laid down in Catholic liturgy, but instead is made up of a personal selection of texts, some taken from the Requiem Mass and some from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The seven sections of the work form an arch-like meditation on the themes of life and death: the first and last movements are prayers on behalf of all humanity, movements 2 and 6 are psalms, 3 and 5 are personal prayers to Christ, and th e central Sanctus is an affirmation of divine glory.

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Overture: Der Freischutz — Carl Maria von Weber
In his overtures Weber clearly shows his orchestral mastery. In his overture to Rubezahl (1811J he had already composed the first Concert overture in the "Mendelssohn" sense of a mood picture in sound unattached to any theatrical representation of it. Ten years later, in his overture to Der Freischutz (" The Huntsman")Weber was to develop these principles still fuTther. Here a formally independent symphonic poem depicts the ensuing drama, yet the opening bars and atmospheric introductory melody (revolutionary in the use of natural horns in different keys to achieve a wider tonal world) are not taken from the opera itself.
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Overture: Der Freischutz — Carl Maria von Weber

In his overtures Weber clearly shows his orchestral mastery. In his overture to Rubezahl (1811J he had already composed the first Concert overture in the "Mendelssohn" sense of a mood picture in sound unattached to any theatrical representation of it. Ten years later, in his overture to Der Freischutz (" The Huntsman")Weber was to develop these principles still fuTther. Here a formally independent symphonic poem depicts the ensuing drama, yet the opening bars and atmospheric introductory melody (revolutionary in the use of natural horns in different keys to achieve a wider tonal world) are not taken from the opera itself.

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Stabat Mater — Gioacchino Rossini
After the enormous effort that had gone into the completion of his finest opera William Tell (1829), Gioachino Rossini, with nearly forty years of life still remaining to him, entered into semi-retirement; he was never to compose another work for the stage. To say he never produced anything broadly operatic in style would howe ver be an ovestatement, as much of the music for the Stabat Mater readily demonstrates. Indeed, so unexpected was the general atmosphere of the work, that Rossini found himself accused of musical incongruity. Certainly, in the light of the great German classics, the humorously jaunty setting of, for example, the Cujus animam, depicting Mary's anguish at the sight of her son's crucifixion, would seem indefensible. Rossini's reaction to all such criticisms was that he was only a musical simpleton, and that he also doubted the power of music to generate specific emotional feeling; it was only important that the music should be of good quality. Rossini appears to have begun work with the best of intentions. However, the onset of a particularly painful attack of lumbago prevented him from proceeding beyond six of the planned twelve movements (Nos. 1 and 5-9). In order to finish the piece, he enlisted the help of an old friend and former fellow pupil, Giovanni Tadolini, who willingly agreed to compose the missing half of the work. The piece was completed in the nick of time, Tadolini's contribution was kept quiet, and Ross ini received a diamond encrusted golden snuff box for his troubles. Rossini composed a further four sections in 1841, bringing the number of movements in this final version to ten in all. It is, needless to say, the authentic version which is recorded here. The G minor Introduzioneis un doubtedly the finest section of the Stabat Mater, its falling chromatic lines and impassioned orchestral outbursts creating an atmosphere of almost unrelieved grief and sorrow. The A flat major setting of the 'Cujus animam' has already been mentioned, along with which must be placed the following E major soprano duet, Quis est homo, both contain glorious music, seemingly completely disassociated from the text in hand. The unaccompanied Eja, Mater possesses a suitably brooding atmosphere. The Quartettohighlights the contradictions within the work as a whole in its juxtaposition of the almost surrealistically inappropriate setting of the opening lines, with the deeply felt section beginning Fac me vere. After the hauntingly beautiful 'Cavatina' (utterly bewildering as a word setting!), comes the masterly Inflammatus, suitably imposing and threatening until the Fac me cruce where the change to the major key comes as radiant affirmation. The unaccompanied Quartetto'is appropriately withdrawn in character, culminating in the hauntingly memorable final bars, a series of aching suspensions over a dominant pedal D held by the bass solo. The finale returns to the inspirational level of the opening movement, the superb fugue possessing an irrepressible power and energy, held in check briefly by a poignant reminder of the Stabat Mater, before speeding away to its imposing conclu sion.
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Stabat Mater — Gioacchino Rossini

After the enormous effort that had gone into the completion of his finest opera William Tell (1829), Gioachino Rossini, with nearly forty years of life still remaining to him, entered into semi-retirement; he was never to compose another work for the stage. To say he never produced anything broadly operatic in style would howe ver be an ovestatement, as much of the music for the Stabat Mater readily demonstrates. Indeed, so unexpected was the general atmosphere of the work, that Rossini found himself accused of musical incongruity. Certainly, in the light of the great German classics, the humorously jaunty setting of, for example, the Cujus animam, depicting Mary's anguish at the sight of her son's crucifixion, would seem indefensible. Rossini's reaction to all such criticisms was that he was only a musical simpleton, and that he also doubted the power of music to generate specific emotional feeling; it was only important that the music should be of good quality.

Rossini appears to have begun work with the best of intentions. However, the onset of a particularly painful attack of lumbago prevented him from proceeding beyond six of the planned twelve movements (Nos. 1 and 5-9). In order to finish the piece, he enlisted the help of an old friend and former fellow pupil, Giovanni Tadolini, who willingly agreed to compose the missing half of the work. The piece was completed in the nick of time, Tadolini's contribution was kept quiet, and Ross ini received a diamond encrusted golden snuff box for his troubles. Rossini composed a further four sections in 1841, bringing the number of movements in this final version to ten in all. It is, needless to say, the authentic version which is recorded here.

The G minor Introduzioneis un doubtedly the finest section of the Stabat Mater, its falling chromatic lines and impassioned orchestral outbursts creating an atmosphere of almost unrelieved grief and sorrow. The A flat major setting of the 'Cujus animam' has already been mentioned, along with which must be placed the following E major soprano duet, Quis est homo, both contain glorious music, seemingly completely disassociated from the text in hand. The unaccompanied Eja, Mater possesses a suitably brooding atmosphere. The Quartettohighlights the contradictions within the work as a whole in its juxtaposition of the almost surrealistically inappropriate setting of the opening lines, with the deeply felt section beginning Fac me vere. After the hauntingly beautiful 'Cavatina' (utterly bewildering as a word setting!), comes the masterly Inflammatus, suitably imposing and threatening until the Fac me cruce where the change to the major key comes as radiant affirmation. The unaccompanied Quartetto'is appropriately withdrawn in character, culminating in the hauntingly memorable final bars, a series of aching suspensions over a dominant pedal D held by the bass solo. The finale returns to the inspirational level of the opening movement, the superb fugue possessing an irrepressible power and energy, held in check briefly by a poignant reminder of the Stabat Mater, before speeding away to its imposing conclu sion.

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Die erste Walpurgisnacht — Felix Mendelssohn
The words of this work are a dramatic ballad by Goethe, given originally to Zelter, Mendelssohn1s teacher, but subsequently passed on to the young composer, who spoke of the enthusiasm with which he approached the task setting it to music. It was begun in Rome, early in 1831, and completed in the July of the same year, but 3resurrected2 in a considerably altered form for its first performance in Leipzig in December 1843. Apart from Elijah it is probably Mendelssohn1s most interesting choral work. Its subject is the battle for religious freedom. The German heathen priests and druids, having been driven out as a result of the establishment of Christianity, arrive at the beginning of Spring at the desolate Harz mountain peak area - the Brocken - which is so rich in legends of witchcraft. There they are to offer prayers and sacrificial fires to the earth and the 3universal father2. Being warned by an old woman of the punishments which would follow their discovery by the Christians, they disguise themselves in devilish masks and wield prongs and pitchforks in an attempt to frighten off their opponents. The Christians are eventually scattered in chaos, and the work ends with a strong statement of Druid, pagan beliefs. The overture opens stormily, but this resolves into a quieter passage, depicting the approach of Spring. The first chorus begins in a lively, vigorous manner, as the pagans and druids greet the approach of May; it is cheerful and fresh, but becomes increasingly menacing towards the end, at the mention of sacrificial fires. After the old woman1s warning and a solo by the Druid priest, which is punctuated by the chorus, the scheme to scare the Christian rabble is hit upon. There follows what is arguably the finest part of the work and one of the mosr powerful things ever written by Mendelssohn. It begins in a stealthy march-like rhythm, with an increasingly elaborate orchestral accompaniment, Then there is a brilliantly effective modulation introducing a long, vigorous movement in rapid 6/8 time, broken from time to time by two bars of duple rhythm. When this has reached its climax, the priest introduces a more solemn note, and the work concludes with the triumphant affirmation of the pagan druid faith.
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Die erste Walpurgisnacht — Felix Mendelssohn

The words of this work are a dramatic ballad by Goethe, given originally to Zelter, Mendelssohn1s teacher, but subsequently passed on to the young composer, who spoke of the enthusiasm with which he approached the task setting it to music. It was begun in Rome, early in 1831, and completed in the July of the same year, but 3resurrected2 in a considerably altered form for its first performance in Leipzig in December 1843. Apart from Elijah it is probably Mendelssohn1s most interesting choral work.

Its subject is the battle for religious freedom. The German heathen priests and druids, having been driven out as a result of the establishment of Christianity, arrive at the beginning of Spring at the desolate Harz mountain peak area - the Brocken - which is so rich in legends of witchcraft. There they are to offer prayers and sacrificial fires to the earth and the 3universal father2. Being warned by an old woman of the punishments which would follow their discovery by the Christians, they disguise themselves in devilish masks and wield prongs and pitchforks in an attempt to frighten off their opponents. The Christians are eventually scattered in chaos, and the work ends with a strong statement of Druid, pagan beliefs.

The overture opens stormily, but this resolves into a quieter passage, depicting the approach of Spring. The first chorus begins in a lively, vigorous manner, as the pagans and druids greet the approach of May; it is cheerful and fresh, but becomes increasingly menacing towards the end, at the mention of sacrificial fires. After the old woman1s warning and a solo by the Druid priest, which is punctuated by the chorus, the scheme to scare the Christian rabble is hit upon. There follows what is arguably the finest part of the work and one of the mosr powerful things ever written by Mendelssohn. It begins in a stealthy march-like rhythm, with an increasingly elaborate orchestral accompaniment, Then there is a brilliantly effective modulation introducing a long, vigorous movement in rapid 6/8 time, broken from time to time by two bars of duple rhythm. When this has reached its climax, the priest introduces a more solemn note, and the work concludes with the triumphant affirmation of the pagan druid faith.

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Messa di Gloria — Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born in Lucca in Tuscany on 22 December 1858. He came from a musical family and became choirmaster and organist at the church of San Martino, Lucca at the age of 14, the fifth ge neration of Puccini to do so. However, after seeing a performance of Aida in the nearby city of Pisa in 1875, Puccini fell under the spell of opera. He himself wrote 3 the Almighty touched me with his little finger and said, ?Write for the theatre - mind, only for the theatre!12 Puccini went on to write such masterpieces as La Bohčme, Madam Butterfly and Tosca and died of throat cancer in Brussels on 29 November 1924 before he could complete his final opera Turandot. Puccini1s success made him very rich. He liked to cut a grand romantic figure and was a notorious ladies1 man. He built a reputation as a dedicated game hunter, smoker and a collector of cars and motor boats - in fact, he barely survived one of the first car crashes in Italy. He also owned a wireless and a phonograph and corresponded with Edison. He was a hearty eater and an enthusiastic cook and his favourite meals were herrings with radishes and eels and pasta. He was renowned for his atrocious handwriting which led to his first opera Villi being rejected by his editor because it was illegible! Puccini wrote the Messa di Gloria in 1880 as his graduation thesis from the Pacini Institute in Lucca and it was first performed on 12 July 1880. It was originally called Mass for Four Voices and Orchestra but it got its current name from the Gloria, the second movement, which accounts for around half the performance time. For some reason, the work was n ever published, and the manuscript remained undiscovered until 1952, when a Catholic priest and musicologist unearthed it in Lucca while researching a biography of Puccini. The second performance took place later that year and is now a part of the standard choral repertoire. The mass is scored for four soloists, a mixed chorus and full orchestra and is divided into five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. The music is characterised by many changes of mood which Puccini achieved by frequent and often abrupt changes of key and tempo and imaginative orchestration. At times, the music is very operatic, being reminiscent of Verdi, particularly in the Gloria - listen out for the tenor solo 3Gratias agimus tibi2 and the chorus 3Qui tollis peccata mundi2.
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Messa di Gloria — Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born in Lucca in Tuscany on 22 December 1858. He came from a musical family and became choirmaster and organist at the church of San Martino, Lucca at the age of 14, the fifth ge neration of Puccini to do so. However, after seeing a performance of Aida in the nearby city of Pisa in 1875, Puccini fell under the spell of opera. He himself wrote 3 the Almighty touched me with his little finger and said, ?Write for the theatre - mind, only for the theatre!12 Puccini went on to write such masterpieces as La Bohčme, Madam Butterfly and Tosca and died of throat cancer in Brussels on 29 November 1924 before he could complete his final opera Turandot.

Puccini1s success made him very rich. He liked to cut a grand romantic figure and was a notorious ladies1 man. He built a reputation as a dedicated game hunter, smoker and a collector of cars and motor boats - in fact, he barely survived one of the first car crashes in Italy. He also owned a wireless and a phonograph and corresponded with Edison. He was a hearty eater and an enthusiastic cook and his favourite meals were herrings with radishes and eels and pasta. He was renowned for his atrocious handwriting which led to his first opera Villi being rejected by his editor because it was illegible!

Puccini wrote the Messa di Gloria in 1880 as his graduation thesis from the Pacini Institute in Lucca and it was first performed on 12 July 1880. It was originally called Mass for Four Voices and Orchestra but it got its current name from the Gloria, the second movement, which accounts for around half the performance time. For some reason, the work was n ever published, and the manuscript remained undiscovered until 1952, when a Catholic priest and musicologist unearthed it in Lucca while researching a biography of Puccini. The second performance took place later that year and is now a part of the standard choral repertoire.

The mass is scored for four soloists, a mixed chorus and full orchestra and is divided into five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. The music is characterised by many changes of mood which Puccini achieved by frequent and often abrupt changes of key and tempo and imaginative orchestration. At times, the music is very operatic, being reminiscent of Verdi, particularly in the Gloria - listen out for the tenor solo 3Gratias agimus tibi2 and the chorus 3Qui tollis peccata mundi2.

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