ST JOHN’S SMITH SQUARE HOLY WEEK FESTIVAL Palm Sunday 5 April – Easter Sunday 12 April 2020 #HolyWeekFestival Curated by Tenebrae in partnership with St John’s Smith Square Tenebrae #HOLYWEEKFESTIVAL © Chris O’Donovan —— An Introduction from Nigel Short I’m delighted to welcome you to Tenebrae’s I look forward to meeting many of you over fourth annual Holy Week Festival. Since the the course of the festival, and I hope you will festival began in 2017 we have been lucky all find something to move and inspire you to work with some truly inspiring artists, over the course of Holy Week. including ensembles of worldwide renown as well as wonderful emerging talent, and this year is no exception. In particular, it has been a long-held dream of mine to invite the King’s Singers, with whom I spent a happy six years performing all over the world, and I am thrilled that they will be performing here at St John’s Smith Square on Palm Nigel Short Sunday evening. Other festival highlights Artistic Director include welcome returns from both The Tallis Tenebrae & Holy Week Festival Scholars and Polyphony, and the exciting female-voice ensemble Musica Secreta in their festival debut. The festival’s raison d’être is to provide ‘A moment of stillness in the heart of the city’. In the first instance this was a response to my own experience as a working musician during Nigel Short © Sim Cannetty-Clarke Holy Week, rushing from one side of London to the other and missing out completely on that vital spirit of reflection. In 2020 we are expanding on this central ethos to introduce a new focus on mental health and wellbeing. This year’s festival will include a pre-concert discussion by leading neurologists and cultural historians, exploring the ways in which people use music to express or process different forms of grief. We are also pleased that the wonderful chamber choir Siglo de Oro will be performing a reflective concert preceded by a guided meditation led by Chris Miller, which I hope will help you to experience this beautiful music in a new and fulfilling way. Box Office020 7222 1061 3 The King’s Singers The PALM SUNDAY —— Siglo de Oro de Oro Siglo © Rebecca Reid © Rebecca © Kaupo Kikkas THE KING’S SINGERS The Two Mountains Patrick Dunachie countertenor SIGLO DE ORO Edward Button countertenor Holy Week in Hamburg Julian Gregory tenor Christopher Bruerton baritone Patrick Allies artistic director Nick Ashby baritone Lassus Tristis est anima mea Jonathan Howard bass Gallus Filiae Jerusalem, nolite flere Holy Week is a historical and liturgical journey, which begins and ends on two mountains Praetorius O vos omnes surrounding Jerusalem: the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gathered the disciples on Palm Hassler Deus, deus meus Sunday, and the ‘green hill far away, without a city wall’, where Jesus was crucified at Golgotha. • Praetorius Tulerunt Dominum meum Missa This specially curated programme navigates through the various sites of Holy Week before Tulerunt Dominum meum: Kyrie, Gloria concluding with a handful of The King’s Singers’ signature close harmony arrangements. Andrea Gabrieli Maria stabat ad monumentum Praetorius Missa Tulerunt Dominum meum: Plainchant for Palm Sunday In monte oliveti Meditation with Chris Miller Credo Gesualdo In monte oliveti This concert of reflective music will be Surrexit Pastor Bonus Schutz Es ist ein freud (Hymn) Praetorius preceded by a guided meditation led by Missa Tulerunt Dominum meum: Lassus In monte oliveti Praetorius Triyoga teacher Chris Miller at 2.45pm. Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei Plainchant for Palm Sunday Hosanna filio Chris has studied and practiced Buddhist Weelkes Hosanna to the son of David (Psalm 118) meditation since 1998 and, following a Siglo de Oro present a programme of late Harm. Bach All glory laud and honour (Hymn) career as a clinic-based counsellor in the Renaissance choral music for Holy Week. The Purcell I was glad NHS, he now provides health and wellbeing centrepiece is an effervescent double-choir Rossi Odekha (Psalm 118 v.21-24) coaching combining exercise, counselling, Mass for Easter Day by Hieronymus Praetorius, Byrd Haec Dies a5 (Psalm 118 v.24) yoga and meditation. We hope that this organist at Hamburg’s Jakobikirche in the early Plainchant for Palm Sunday Deus, deus meus th guided session will help you to experience 17 century. Alongside Praetorius’ masterpiece Cyrillus Kreek Deus, deus meus (Psalm 22) / ‘Mu Jumal’ the music performed in a new and are Passiontide motets by composers whose George Stebbins There is a green hill far away (Hymn) refreshing way. influence is heard in the mass: Bavarian Hans Geoffrey Poole Mary modyr (from Wymondham Chants) Leo Hassler, Netherlandish Orlande de Lassus, To avoid disruption to the concert, Gibbons Drop, drop slow tears (Hymn) and Venetian Andrea Gabrieli. tickets to the meditation can only be The concert will finish with a selection of songs in close harmony, from The King’s Singers’ siglodeoro.co.uk purchased in conjunction with tickets for library of folk, jazz and pop arrangements. chrismillerfitness.com the performance. kingssingers.com Sun 5 April 3.30pm 2.45pm – Meditation with Chris Miller + Concert: £22.50 (£17.50), YF £12.50 Sun 5 April 7.30pm 3.30pm – Concert only: £15 (£10), YF £35, £28, £22, £14 4 Box Office020 7222 1061 Box Office020 7222 1061 5 HOLY MONDAY HOLY TUESDAY —— —— Florilegium The Civil Service Choir Civil Service The Scholars Tallis The © Copland-Cale Photography © Copland-Cale © Nick Rutter © Nick © David Pearson © David BACH: ST MATTHEW PASSION James Oxley © Faye Thomas James Oxley evangelist Giles Underwood christus THE CIVIL SERVICE THE TALLIS SCHOLARS Sophie Bevan soprano CHOIR & ORCHESTRA Victoria Responsories Ruairi Bowen tenor Peter Phillips director Jonathan Brown bass CONSORT Choir of Merton College, Oxford Dvořák: Mass in D major Victoria Responsories for Tenebrae (Thursday Merton College Girl Choristers Nos. 1 - 6; & Friday Nos. 1 - 3) • Ave Maria (a8) • conductor Florilegium Stephen Hall Responsories for Tenebrae (Friday Nos. 4 - 6; & Benjamin Nicholas conductor The outstanding Civil Service Choir is once Saturday Nos. 1 - 6) • Salve regina (a8) First heard on Good Friday 1727, Bach’s again at SJSS for Holy Week, this year with Through the intensely expressive music of Mass in D major, “great passion” is the most monumental of Dvořák’s Op. 86. Victoria, Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars his works. The deeply affecting setting of represent Christ on the Cross and the Virgin Sophie Bevan © Sussie Ahlburg Written in 1887, the Mass is meditative in the trial, suffering and death of Jesus will be character – perfect for Holy Week – with Mary. Victoria’s Responsories for Tenebrae are realised by a brilliant team of soloists, one of harmonic richness and folksong-like melodies. grouped in three sets, one for each day of the Britain’s most outstanding period instrument Crucifixion narrative; Thursday to Saturday. ensembles and the acclaimed Choir of Merton The choir has delighted SJSS audiences every In this programme the Responsories are College, Oxford, with Merton’s girl choristers time and this concert has free ticketed interspersed with two of Victoria’s votive singing the ripieno chorus. admission. There will be a charity collection antiphons for double choir: his peerless Ave in the hall. Maria and Salve regina. merton.ox.ac.uk/choir florilegium.org.uk civilservicechoir.org.uk thetallisscholars.co.uk Mon 6 April 7.30pm Tues 7 April 1.05pm Tues 7 April 7.30pm £35, £28, £22, £14 Free admission £35, £28, £22, £14 6 Box Office020 7222 1061 Box Office020 7222 1061 7 Tenebrae Tenebrae SPY WEDNESDAY —— Cannetty-Clarke © Sim Workshop Tenebrae Nigel Short © Webb Street Studios © Sim Cannetty-Clarke TENEBRAE “Unaccompanied choral singing comes no better than this: in blend, accuracy, WORKSHOP: PRE-CONCERT PANEL: Miserere, mei Deus precision, commitment.” – The Guardian THE TENEBRAE EFFECT MUSIC & LAMENTATION Nigel Short conductor Gibbons Drop, drop, slow tears The neuroscience, theology, history and De Monte Super flumina Babylonis Bach Komm, Jesu, komm art behind music and grief Anon. Gregorian plainchant Bruckner Os justi Ian Ritchie (Chair); Dr Robert Letellier; Byrd Quomodo cantabimus ‘The Tenebrae Effect’ is Tenebrae’s inspiring Prof. Michael Trimble MacMillan Tenebrae factae sunt choral development initiative which is Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah I As part of our festival focus on mental designed to challenge and advance every Allegri Miserere, mei Deus health and wellbeing, Tenebrae presents a participant, whilst providing an insight into MacMillan Tradiderunt me pre-concert panel exploring the ways in the elements which make Tenebrae’s sound Byrd Ne irascaris which we use music to express and process and interpretation to music so unique. Join MacMillan Jesum tradidit impius grief. Reflecting on the music to be performed Tenebrae’s Artistic Director, Nigel Short, and Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah II in the evening concert, Ian Ritchie (Artistic members of Tenebrae for what is set to be MacMillan Miserere Director of The Musical Brain and fascinating and informative morning. interdisciplinary music curator) will chair a Following the phenomenal success of its conversation between neurologist Professor recent film of Allegri’s Miserere, mei Deus, Candles © Chris O’Donovan “Most enjoyable workshop I have ever Tenebrae presents this iconic work in a attended. A real pleasure to find such a Michael Trimble and cultural historian Dr Robert Letellier. Michael’s specialism in candlelit