Opus XVI Chamber Choir and All Saints West Dulwich Choral workshop: 7 October 2017 All Saints West Dulwich, Lovelace Road, SE21 8JY
General information
Our aim for the day is to sing parts of Brahms’ Requiem and some Bruckner motets, learn how to sing well, meet some like-minded singers and, most importantly, have fun. The workshop will be run by Ruth Holton with assistance from Jonny Davies, Peter Davies (pianist), with Nicky Mitchell and Alan Littell assisting in the sectional rehearsals.
Ruth Holton, soprano, has enjoyed a busy career as an oratorio singer in combination with her work as a recitalist and consort singer in repertoire from the renaissance to contemporary music. She is best known for her interpretations of the passions and cantatas of JS Bach and has recorded with John Eliot Gardiner, the Thomaner Chor and many others. In consort she was a member of the Tallis Scholars, and sang with Ensemble Modern and the Hilliard Ensemble. More recently her concert repertoire has included Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony , Verdi's Requiem, Howells' Hymnus Paradisi and Strauss' Four Last Songs. As a coach Ruth has taught at Dartington, Madrid and Gdansk. She is also the Organist and Director of Music at All Saints West Dulwich and founded the community choir Sing4ALL in 2014.
Jonny Davies was head chorister at St George’s Chapel Windsor as a boy and then a Music Scholar at Trinity School, Croydon. His passion for all things German and German music in particular led him to study the language along with French at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he held both organ and choral awards. Jonny now divides his time between singing, conducting, playing the organ and working as an accompanist and vocal coach. He has been Director of Music at St Olave's, Hart Street for 8 years and conducts the Sine Nomine Singers.
Ruth and Jonny have sung and played in the Brahms Requiem on numerous occasions, and know the motets of Bruckner well, and are thrilled to be further exploring these great works.
The programme for the day is as follows: 10.00 Doors open for registration, tea/coffee and music distribution 10.30 Morning session – vocal warm-ups followed by music studies 12.30 Lunch (please bring your own packed lunch) 13.15 Afternoon session 1 with sectional rehearsals 15.15 Tea/coffee break for 20 minutes (home-made cakes/ biscuits will be available) 15.35 Afternoon session 2 16.00 Run through and sharing of work for friends and guests 16.30 Conclusion
We will be singing excerpts of the Brahms Requiem in German from the Peters version and will have copies for singers to borrow. If you have your own copy, please bring it along. We are sorry that, to avoid confusion, no other versions of the Brahms Requiem will be accepted for the workshop.
The Brahms Requiem excerpts will be taken from the following: 1. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen 2. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras 3. Herr, lehre doch mich 6. Denn wir haben hier
You can find a Gardiner recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVBMhP0UcdU
The Bruckner motets we will be singing are “Locus Iste” and “Ave Maria” and music will be provided on the day. There are good versions of both of these on Youtube if you would like to do some preparation in advance.
Locus Iste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm1jfmbPM-A Ave Maria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbHKnUhdv8g
A second information sheet will be provided about a week before the event with details about transport to the venue, the layout of the church, seating arrangements, safety arrangements, etc.
For queries or more details at this stage, please refer to our website: www.opus16.org.uk or contact Lesley Gibbs on 020-7733-0518.