HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL Palm Sunday 14 April – Holy Saturday 20 April 2019 #SJSSHolyWeek Curated by Tenebrae in partnership with St John's Smith Square Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall #SJSSHOLYWEEK HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: PALM SUNDAY —— —— The Tallis Schoars Tallis The It is with great pleasure that I warmly invite you to our next Holy Week Festival. © It is a celebration of glorious music from Poulenc’s dramatic and poignant four motets Rutter Nick composers inspired by the greatest devotion for Lent, together with Haydn’s setting and faith, who were moved by the compelling performed by the esteemed Brodsky Quartet. narrative of Holy Week. From the late-night Once again, we are delighted to welcome some Offices of Tenebrae sung by candlelight to J.S. of the UK’s finest vocal ensembles together Bach’s powerful St John and St Matthew with their astonishingly talented directors. Passions, there will be something for everyone. The festival will also mark the 60th When you have made the journey to St John’s birthday year of one of the UK’s finest living Smith Square to join us, sit back, relax and let composers, Sir James MacMillan, by this musical feast transport you away from celebrating his extraordinarily beautiful and the everyday strains and stresses of our evocative music. hectic modern day lives. Stay on to immerse yourself in our re-enactment of some of the Amongst other highlights, MacMillan’s most atmospheric and spiritually intense incomparable setting of the Seven Last Words liturgical events of the Christian calendar. from the Cross will be performed by Tenebrae I hope that this festival fulfils all your and Britten Sinfonia, coupled with Francis musical needs. THE TALLIS SCHOLARS We look forward to welcoming you Inspired by the Sistine Chapel this Eastertide. Peter Phillips director Palestrina ‘Kyrie’ from Missa Assumpta est Maria Morales Regina caeli Palestrina ‘Gloria’ from Missa Ecce ego Johannes “...one of the UK’s Festa Quam pulchra es greatest cultural Carpentras Lamentations exports” Nigel Short Palestrina ‘Credo’ from Missa Papae Marcelli – BBC Radio 3 Artistic Director, Tenebrae Allegri Miserere mei, Deus Palestrina ‘Sanctus’ from Missa Confitebor tibi domine Josquin Inter Natos Mulierum Alexander Campkin Miserere Mei Palestrina ‘Agnus Dei’ from Missa Brevis This year’s Holy Week Festival opens with the world-renowned vocal ensemble, The Tallis Scholars. All these Renaissance composers worked in the Sistine Chapel and wrote for the choir there. Quite a number of the pieces can be identified as having been specifically written for that building. Campkin’s Miserere Mei is a direct response to the renowned Allegri setting of the same psalm. The framework of the programme is a composite mass by Palestrina. thetallischolars.co.uk Sun 14 April 7.30pm Nigel Short © Sim Cannetty-Clarke Sir James MacMillan © Philip Gatward £35, £28, £22, £14 2 Book online sjss.org.uk Box Office020 7222 1061 3 HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: HOLY MONDAY HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: HOLY TUESDAY —— —— Brodsky Quartet Brodsky Choir Civil Service Etcetera Consort Marian The © Martina Simkovicova © Nick Rutter © Nick © David Pearson © David THE MARIAN CONSORT In Sorrow’s Footsteps: Allegri, MacMillan, Palestrina, Jackson Rory McCleery conductor Palestrina Stabat Mater “The Brodsky’s ability to communicate on so many levels – humanity and ETCETERA CIVIL Palestrina Ave Maria a5 virtuosity all part of the essential integrity of their approach...” Gabriel Jackson Stabat Mater – The Guardian SERVICE CHOIR (London premiere)* Allegri Miserere mei, Deus Schubert Deutsches Stabat Mater Victoria Salve Regina a6 BRODSKY QUARTET Sir James MacMillan Miserere mei, Deus Etcetera Civil Service Choir *performed with young singers from Music Daniel Rowland violin Etcetera Orchestral Consort Centre London Ian Belton violin Stephen Hall OBE conductor Paul Cassidy viola “Exquisite... the ensemble sings with Jacqueline Thomas cello Schubert Stabat Mater in G minor D175 eloquence and expressive finesse” Sir James MacMillan For Sonny Schubert Stabat Mater in F minor D383 – The Sunday Times Sir James MacMillan Memento Etcetera – the outstanding Civil Service Haydn The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross Op. 51 The Marian Consort presents paired settings Choir – makes its seventh St John's Smith of two of the most emotionally-charged Square appearance in a stunning lunchtime Haydn considered his The Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the sacred texts of the Christian tradition: concert. The choir presents not one Stabat Cross to be one of his greatest works superior to either of his later Gregorio Allegri’s famous Miserere is paired Mater but two for Holy Week – they are both oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons. It is performed in its with James MacMillan’s contemporary by Schubert and they are both utterly most popular quartet setting by the illustrious Brodsky Quartet reimagining, while Palestrina’s double-choir beautiful. Tickets (which are free) are alongside two string quartet miniatures by the Holy Week Stabat Mater is heard alongside a fresh available from the Box Office in person or by Festival’s featured composer, Sir James MacMillan. response to this extraordinary text from one phone. Do not delay as tickets will be taken of the UK’s foremost choral composers, quickly! This concert will last around 75 minutes without an interval. Gabriel Jackson. civilservicechoir.org.uk brodskyquartet.co.uk marianconsort.co.uk musiccentrelondon.com Mon 15 April 7.30pm Tue 16 April 1.05pm Tue 16 April 7.30pm £25, £20, £15, £10, YF Free Admission (with retiring collection) £28, £22, £16, £10 4 Book online sjss.org.uk Box Office020 7222 1061 5 HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: SPY WEDNESDAY HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: MAUNDY THURSDAY —— —— Ex Cathedra James MacMillan Sir SANSARA © Theo © Theo Willianms © Hans van der Woerd der van © Hans SANSARA Candles Northern Rites Tom Herring artistic director EX CATHEDRA © Chris O'Donovan WORKSHOP WITH St Matthew Passion SIR JAMES MACMILLAN Trad. arr. Bengt Ollén Trilo Sir James MacMillan The Gallant Weaver Jeremy Budd evangelist Trad. arr. Grete Pederson Ned i vester soli Marcus Farnsworth jesus Sir James MacMillan ‘Qui meditabitur’ glader Lawrence White pilate from The Strathclyde Motets Sir James MacMillan Dominus dabit Katie Trethewey, Angela Hicks Sir James MacMillan ‘Videns Dominus’ benignitatem & Elizabeth Adams soprano from The Strathclyde Motets Sir James MacMillan A Child’s Prayer Martha McLorinan Sir James MacMillan ‘Mitte mauam tuam’ Knut Nystedt O Crux & Harriet Hougham Slade alto from The Strathclyde Motets Anna Thorvaldsdottir Þann heilaga kross Bradley Smith tenor This year’s Holy Week Festival marks the 60th Oliver Tarney Irish Blessing Greg Skidmore bass birthday year of one of the UK’s finest living Trad. arr. Hakon Nystedt Når mitt øye, trett Jeffrey Skidmore conductor composers by celebrating his extraordinary av møye Bach St Matthew Passion musical output. Join Sir James MacMillan for Sir James MacMillan Lux aeterna an insightful morning singing and discussing Trad. arr. Ørjan Matre Herrens venner Monumental and yet grippingly immediate, his choral music. This programme explores the rich and Bach’s St Matthew Passion tells the profound LITURGICAL EVENT I diverse heritage of music from the drama of Christ’s last days with music of Tenebrae We advise that most value is brought to Scandinavian and Celtic traditions: aching beauty. Every musical possibility is Nigel Short conductor those with prior choral experience and interlinked by their shared encounters used to express and sustain an extraordinary Reverend Graham Buckle cleric-in-residence suggest participants should either be throughout history, traces of contact linger range of feelings: love, sacrifice, betrayal, familiar with the scores or be confident in their languages and music. Hear works by suffering, remorse, helplessness and shame. Victoria Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy sight-readers. Scores will be provided on the James MacMillan alongside Scandinavian This sublime and emotional piece is Thursday day and the workshop will last two hours. folk melodies, Knut Nystedt’s powerful O particularly powerful during Holy Week. A moving sequence of devotional Tenebrae Crux and a beautiful memorial piece by Workshop participants are entitled to a 10% settings and responses performed by SANSARA’s Associate Composer, Oliver Sung in German. discount (within the same transaction) to candlelight. Tarney. The BBC Singers’ concert on the evening of excathedra.co.uk tenebrae-choir.com Thursday 18 April. sansarachoir.com Wed 17 April 7.00pm Wed 17 April 10.15pm Thu 18 April 11.00am Thu 18 April 6.00pm £35, £28, £22, £14 Free Admission £20 (£14) £15 (£10), YF 6 Book online sjss.org.uk Box Office020 7222 1061 7 HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL: MAUNDY THURSDAY —— THE BBC SINGERS BBC Singers The TENEBRAE —— Sir James MacMillan conductor Sir James MacMillan Cum vidisset Jesus Cannetty-Clarke © Sim “For purity and precision of tone, and Sir James MacMillan ‘Qui meditabitur’ from flawless intonation, Nigel Short’s chamber choir The Strathclyde Motets Gesualdo ‘In Monte Oliveti’ from Tenebrae is pretty much unbeatable” Responsories for Maundy Thursday —— 1st Nocturn The Times Sir James MacMillan ‘Videns Donimus’ from The Strathclyde Motets Gesualdo ‘Tristis est anima mea’ from Responsories for Maundy Thursday 1st Nocturn Sir James MacMillan ‘Mitte manuam tuam’ from The Strathclyde Motets Gesualdo ‘Ecce vidimus eum’ from Responsories for Maundy Thursday 1st Nocturn Sir James MacMillan Pascha nostrum immolatus est