BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Summertown Choral Society - ECPv6.17.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Summertown Choral Society REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20090329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20091025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20100328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20101031T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20110327T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20111030T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20120325T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20121028T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20130331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20131027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20140330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20141026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20150329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20151025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20160327T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20161030T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20170326T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20171029T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20180325T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20181028T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20190331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20191027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20200329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20201025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20210328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20211031T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20220327T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20221030T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20230326T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20231029T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20240331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20241027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260516T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260516T213000 DTSTAMP:20260520T115449Z CREATED:20260108T144212Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260520T115449Z UID:20344-1778959800-1778967000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Summer Concert May 2026 DESCRIPTION:Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle\n  \nLouise Wayman – soprano\nRuby Bak – mezzo soprano\nSamuel Rose – tenor \nHarrison Robb – baritone\n\nSummertown Choral Society \nConductor: Duncan Saunderson \nPianist: Julian Littlewood \n  \nConcert programme \n\nGioachino Rossini\, world famous at 21\, admired by Beethoven and Schubert\, and the greatest writer of comic opera more or less gave up composing at 37. (Health\, wealth\, several houses and a new mistress?) However\, at the age of 71 he composed the Petite Messe Solennelle\, one of the most intriguing works of the 19th century. \n\nLong and full of “joie de vivre”\, the title is either a joke\, or refers to the small forces he had in mind: 12 singers (including castrati)\, two pianos and a harmonium. Behind the shimmering tunefulness is music of great majesty\, rigour\, depth and hushed solemnity. Too long for a church service\, it was first performed in a Parisian salon. Quirkily\, it quotes a composer friend writing in the style of Palestrina in the opening Kyrie and has an extended piano solo as the Offertorium. \nAbove all\, Rossini’s mature genius for melody and musical architecture is dazzling throughout. With four superb professional soloists\, the glowing timbre of harmonium\, and a performance of Rossini’s Première communion from Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age) by the dazzling pianist Julian Littlewood\, this promises to be a wonderful evening filled with colour\, charm\, and Rossinian sparkle. \nTickets are available from Tickets Oxford (a booking fee of £1.50 applies)\, or directly from choir members. Doors open at 7:00pm. \nPlease note: photography\, recording or filming is not permitted during this event. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/summer-concert-may-2026/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-May-poster-Tickets-Oxford.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260207T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260207T213000 DTSTAMP:20260208T130632Z CREATED:20250410T170426Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T130632Z UID:20150-1770492600-1770499800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach and Haydn DESCRIPTION:Bach Magnificat in D\, BWV 24\n\n\n\nHaydn Missa in Tempore Belli (Paukenmesse)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHelen Ashby – soprano\nKate Ashby – soprano\nHera Protopapas – mezzo soprano\nTom Kelly – tenor\nDaniel Tate – bass \nInstruments of Time and Truth\nconducted by Duncan Saunderson\n\n\nConcert programme\n\nA note from the conductor: \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe ancient canticle ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord’ spoken by Mary has been set to music countless times over the centuries. Bach’s thrilling setting\, first performed in the church of St Thomas\, Leipzig in 1733\, and scored for five-part choir\, five soloists\, strings\, oboes\, flutes\, three trumpets and timpani is one of his greatest and most popular compositions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFirst performed in Vienna in 1796\, Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli (Mass in Time of War) is nicknamed the Paukenmesse due to the dramatic use of timpani (pauken)\, said to foreshadow Beethoven’s mighty Missa Solemnis. It is one of a group of the composer’s late masterpieces including the Creation and the Nelson Mass. He probably had Napoleon’s possible invasion of Austria in mind. At times unsettling\, but also lyrically joyful and ending with trumpet fanfares and a fabulous celebration of peace\, it is Haydn at his most exciting. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bach-and-haydn/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2026-Feb-poster-Tickets-Oxford.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250517T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250517T213000 DTSTAMP:20250628T133927Z CREATED:20240519T134606Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250628T133927Z UID:19775-1747510200-1747517400@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Summer Concert May 2025 DESCRIPTION:Dvořák Mass in D (1887)\nTippett Five Spirituals\nHolst Five Partsongs (1902/3)\nDvořák American Suite (piano solo)\nRandall Thompson ‘Choose Something like a Star’ from Frostiana \nHelen Ashby – soprano\nHera Protopapas – mezzo sporano\nThomas Kelly – tenor\nDaniel Tate – bass \nJulian Littlewood – piano \n  \nView programme \nNotes from our Musical Director: \nThe Dvořák is a lovely sing and highly regarded. An important early press review wrote “A work of remarkable power and effect…This is truly a magnificent piece of music\, that can only be written at rare intervals even by Dvořák”. The great Czech composer spent time in America and it is no coincidence that one of the greatest “classical” melodies\, the “New World” Symphony Largo theme\, is drawn from the great African American Spirituals that he loved. Listen to the beautifully lilting Kyrie here. \nIt therefore seems fitting to sing Tippett’s Five Spirituals. These beautiful songs\, placed like Bach chorales in the Passions\, are from the secular oratorio “A Child Of Our Time”. Written in 1939 and 1941\, it was inspired by the assassination of a German diplomat by a young Jewish refugee in 1938\, and the tragedies that ensued. \nIn lighter vein\, Holst’s Five Partsongs (opus 12) are delightful miniatures written by an underrated master. (Surely The Planets Suite is as good as anything!?). URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/summer-concert-may-2025/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/May-2025-SCS-poster-Dvorak-mass-Tickets-Oxford-200.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250201T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250201T220000 DTSTAMP:20250202T180019Z CREATED:20240519T133921Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T180019Z UID:19772-1738438200-1738447200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach St John Passion DESCRIPTION:Instruments of Time and Truth \nDuncan Saunderson – conductor \nElspeth Piggott – soprano\nHera Protopapas – alto\nDaniel Norman – tenor\nSamuel Jenkins – tenor\nHarrison Robb – bass\nDaniel Tate – bass \nThe St John Passion\, a glorious choral work by Johann Sebastian Bach\, was composed just over 300 years ago and first performed in St Nicholas Church\, Leipzig\, at the Vespers service on Good Friday in 1724. This was during Bach’s first year as director of music in Leipzig\, where he remained for the next 27 years. \nOne of the greatest and most powerful musical works ever written\, it was described by Robert Schumann as ‘more daring\, forceful and dramatic’ than Bach’s St Matthew Passion\, written three years later. Two magnificent extended choruses at the beginning and end frame the four elements of the work: speech rhythm narration\, the ferocious and taut ‘crowd’ choruses\, operatic-style arias\, and Lutheran chorale melodies exquisitely harmonised by Bach. \nThere is layer upon layer of musical imagery: searing dissonances over a raised pulse\, rapid dice rolling semiquavers\, a crown of thorns “pricking” on a lute and rainbow melodic contours for Christ’s scourged back looking “like a rainbow appearing as a heavenly blessing”. Bach’s pacing and almost infinite inflection of the words is judged to perfection and the work of course ends positively as we are ultimately faced with “boundless joy”. \nUnder the baton of our conductor\, Duncan Saunderson\, the choir sang the excellent and very accessible English version of the text\, in the New Novello edition. The orchestral accompaniment for the concert was by Instruments of Time and Truth. \nConcert programme \nSome personal reflections from Duncan:\n“Bach’s St John Passion would be towards the top of my desert island discs and I have known it for over forty years\, having sung it in the chorus at the Guildhall School of Music in 1982. Around then I even sang an alto aria to James Bowman! \nThen came the many performances in New College Chapel with the choir\, and a performance on the South Bank with Sir Mark Elder. The English choral tradition being (still) one of our greatest exports\, this meant performances across Australia\, including two in the Sydney Opera House\, then in San Francisco\, and Spain\, where I was honoured to play the part of Pilate with the Hilliard Ensemble taking the other roles. \nI am greatly looking forward to immersing myself with SCS in the work from September to February next year and can wholeheartedly recommend it as an absolute ‘must sing’. I can’t think of a finer orchestra to sing it with than Instruments of Time and Truth who know and love the music intimately.” URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bach-st-john-passion/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Feb-2025-SCS-poster-SJP-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240518T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240518T213000 DTSTAMP:20240521T171336Z CREATED:20231123T095618Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240521T171336Z UID:19413-1716060600-1716067800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Brahms and Vaughan Williams DESCRIPTION:Summertown Choral Society\nConductor: Duncan Saunderson \nSoloists:\nGareth Brynmor John\nElspeth Piggott \nPiano: Julian Littlewood \nVaughan Williams: Five Mystical Songs\nFranck: Prélude\, Choral et Fugue\nBrahms: A German Requiem\nConcert programme \nAs one of the world’s greatest composers\, Johannes Brahms looked back to the serious classicism of Bach and Beethoven. Nowhere is this demonstrated better than in his Bach-style motet Warum is das Licht gegeben with its four chords brilliantly leaving a question mark (“Why?”) in the air\, flawless counterpoint and exquisite chorale harmonisations. Not bad for a man who spent his youth playing  piano in “squalid Hamburg taverns”! \nHis first great success (where all the above and so much more is present)was the German Requiem (words taken from Luther’s translation of the Bible). It is unusual in that there are none of the standard Catholic Requiem words and Christ is not mentioned. He once described it as a “humanist Requiem”\, and underneath a superficial austerity there is a great message of hope\, joy and consolation for the living. It is full of some of his finest music\, so admired but rarely matched by Parry and Stanford\, and is a pillar of the Western musical tradition. \nThe later work\, Five Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams was first performed in the Three Choirs Festival at Worcester in 1911. It sets words by the Anglican priest and poet George Herbert. The “cheerful agnostic” Vaughan Williams\, like Brahms looked back\, and English folksong and Tudor music were influential. This is present but he allows the choir and soloist some glittering flamboyance! The work\, for baritone soloist and choir\, from the striking opening chords and dazzling choral entry of “Rise Heart”\, through the sublime beauty of “The Call” to the glorious finale “Let All The World In Every Corner Sing” is a joy to discover and perform! \nGareth Brynmor John (baritone)\nHaving won the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Competition in 2013\, he made his debut with Welsh National Opera in 2017. He has given recitals in the Wigmore Hall and St John’s Smith Square\, and he was the baritone soloist in last year’s Carols from Kings\, broadcast all over the world. The Brahms Requiem and the great baritone and chorus ‘song cycle’ Five Mystical Songs\, which Gareth has performed for Danish Radio\, is the perfect showcase for this world class baritone. \nElspeth Piggott (soprano)\nWe shall also be delighted to welcome back soprano soloist Elspeth Piggott\, who has sung with SCS at several of our concerts over the last few years. She is keen on the dual art forms of music and drama\, in both traditional opera and newly devised works. She is also a sought-after soloist for the baroque repertoire. \nJulian Littlewood (piano)\nFor this concert we shall be performing Brahms’ German Requiem with piano accompaniment provided by Julian Littlewood\, a talented exponent of Brahms’ piano repertoire and the author of a book on his work\, The Variations of Johannes Brahms. Julian has been active on the Oxford musical scene and beyond for some 30 years as pianist\, organist and conductor\, and has long been the society’s accompanist. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/brahms-and-vaughan-williams/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-May-SCS-poster-Brahms-requiem.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240203T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240203T213000 DTSTAMP:20251108T175406Z CREATED:20230328T141602Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251108T175406Z UID:18870-1706988600-1706995800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Mozart Great Mass in C minor DESCRIPTION:Mozart Great Mass in C minor \n\n\n\n\nPurcell Funeral Music for Queen Mary They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships \nElspeth Piggott – sopranoLouise Wayman – sopranoLaura Ashby – altoThomas Kelly – tenorThomas Bennett – bass \n  \nConcert programme \nAbout this concert\nMozart’s ‘Great’ Mass in C minor was composed in Vienna in 1782/3 and is regarded as one of his finest works. Scored for large orchestra and double choir\, it shows the influence of Bach and Handel\, whom Mozart had been enthusiastically studying. The soprano solos\, written for his wife Constanze\, are some of the most ravishing soprano solos he ever wrote. She too adored the work of Bach and Handel and the Mass has been described as a love offering to her. \n\n\n\n\nPurcell’s Funeral Music for Queen Mary was first performed in 1695 in Westminster Abbey. The music\, showing Purcell at his absolute best\, completely transcends the sombre words\, and the hauntingly beautiful instrumental interludes played by brass and drum are unforgettable. \nThey That Go Down to the Sea in Ships is an extraordinary anthem featuring an extended bass solo originally written for the Reverend John Gostling\, a ‘basso profondo’ well known to Purcell. These voices\, plumbing the depths of the bass clef\, are a rarity\, but SCS think they have the man! URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/mozart-great-mass-in-c-minor/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Feb-2024-SCS-concert-poster-scaled.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20230520T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20230520T213000 DTSTAMP:20230928T162642Z CREATED:20230125T120403Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230928T162642Z UID:18193-1684611000-1684618200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Summer Concert May 2023 DESCRIPTION:  \nLiszt – Missa Choralis\nDvořák – Six Moravian SongsTchaikovsky – Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (movements 1 & 13)\nClara Schumann – Abendfeier in VenedigBortniansky – Cherubic Hymn (no.7)\nBrahms – Geistliches Lied (soloists)Brahms – In Stiller Nacht (soloists)\nLiszt – Ad nos ad salutarem undam (finale) (Julian Littlewood\, organ)Liszt – Appassionata (Julian Littlewood\, piano)\n\nConcert programme\n\n\n \n\nAbout this concert:\nSCS’s Music Director\, Duncan Saunderson\, writes: \nMissa Choralis (1865) shows a different side to the piano virtuoso Liszt and was written in Rome while taking holy orders and studying Palestrina and Gregorian chant. \nDvořák’s Six Moravian Songs helped launch his international career as a composer. The influential Brahms rated them highly to a publisher: ‘You will find pleasure in them as I did\, and as a publisher you will be especially delighted in the piquancy’. \nTchaikovsky’s masterpiece Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (1878) was first performed in the University Church\, Kyiv. The 5th century Archbishop of Constantinople’s Liturgy was the most celebrated divine liturgy in the Byzantine Rite\, and considered by Tchaikovsky as ‘one of the greatest productions of art …it is impossible not to be profoundly moved’. \nClara Schumann has been described as one of the most influential women in musical history. Venetian Vespers is one of her simple but beautiful unaccompanied partsongs. \nThe Russian Ukrainian composer Dmitry Bortniansky (1752 – 1825) has been described as ‘The Father of Ukrainian Music’. Cherubic Hymn is also from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. \nSCS will be joined by soloists Emma and Kate Ashby (members of the world-renowned early music ensemble Stile Antico)\, Ben Durrant (a member of The BBC Singers\, arguably the most versatile chamber choir in the world!) and Oxford’s superb baritone\, Dan Tate. \nAnd SCS’s accompanist\, Julian Littlewood\, writes about the pieces he will be playing: \nThe two solo keyboard works show different sides of Liszt the virtuoso. We hear the rousing finale to Ad nos\, ad salutarem undam\, a stirring organ composition with the same scale and ambition as his B-minor sonata\, using similar techniques of thematic transformation on its source chorale. The F-minor Transcendental Study Appassionata shows Liszt at his most polished – progressively honed over almost 30 years of performance between first publication and final revision. \nEarly booking is essential! \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/summer-concert-may-2023/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SCS-May-2023-concert-website-150.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20230121T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20230121T213000 DTSTAMP:20230928T162629Z CREATED:20220522T164437Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230928T162629Z UID:17614-1674329400-1674336600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Handel and Haydn DESCRIPTION:[cmsmasters_row][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″][cmsmasters_text] \n\nConcert programme\nIn late August 2022\, Duncan Saunderson\, our Music Director\, sent the following email to all SCS choir members: \nThis concert includes some of my favourite music to sing and conduct. Haydn’s fabulous Nelson Mass (or Missa in Angustiis – Mass for troubled Times) has been described as arguably his greatest work. The title refers to the havoc Napoleon was creating in Europe\, with Vienna under direct threat. At the time of writing\, Nelson landed a stunning victory over Napoleon on the Nile\, with its vital trade routes to Britain. The timing\, and Nelson’s subsequent meeting with Haydn in Esterhazy\, led to the nickname ‘The Nelson Mass’. \nI’ve been singing Handel’s sublime Coronation Anthems for almost 40 years\, and lucky enough to have sung them to the Queen twice. The first occasion in 1984 was as part of a choir of 700 music students in The Royal Albert Hall under the baton of Sir David Willcocks. (I still have an 8-sided seating plan from an old typewriter!) \nAnother time was 10 years later in The Rudolphinum\, Prague with the Choir of New College\, Oxford and The King’s Consort under Robert King. Afterwards\, when lined up to meet the Queen and the Duke (who didn’t recognise me!)\, we were so star-struck that many of us wondered who the unfamiliar face was with them. It turned out be Václav Havel\, last president of Czechoslovakia\, leader of The Velvet Revolution (the non-violent toppling of Communism in 1989) and distinguished playwright. I’ve tried to make amends for this youthful ignorance by reading some of\nhis work. He enjoyed the Handel enormously! \nWe very much hope to see you on 21 January 2023 for this glorious concert of Handel and Haydn\, and SCS\, at their best! \nBest wishes\, \nDuncan \nOn 24 January 2023\, after the performance\, Duncan sent the following message to all SCS choir members: \nDear SCS member\, \nThank you for a terrific concert on Saturday! The preparation and hard work on Thursdays always pays off. An easy rehearsal in the afternoon and a wonderful and memorable performance in the evening. \nThanks also for encouraging and nurturing a very loyal audience. They are immensely appreciated and a delight to see and talk to. \nVery happy soloists and a lovely comment from Will Anderson\, the managing director of the orchestra: \n‘I’m so glad the concert was a success – I spoke to a few people at Christ Church on Sunday who had attended and they were very complimentary about the choir!’ \nAs a nice reminder: here’s the leader and others you might recognise accompanying one of the finest countertenors in the world: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BsCf5XKatUE&ab_channel=AcademyofAncientMusic \nOn another note\, last call for Brasov chamber choir singers! Numbers are looking good and accommodation is being booked. https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/brasov-2023/ For choosing repertoire\, I’d like to draw up a cast list soon. \nEnjoy an evening off this Thursday! \nBest wishes\, \nDuncan \n[/cmsmasters_text][/cmsmasters_column][/cmsmasters_row] URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/haydn-handel/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Jan-2023-SCS-poster-Nelson-Mass-press-pdf-2-scaled-e1668705444979.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20220521T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20220521T213000 DTSTAMP:20230526T214653Z CREATED:20220130T190748Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230526T214653Z UID:17378-1653161400-1653168600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:French Romantic Choral Music DESCRIPTION:Concert programme\n  \n  \n\nSaint-Saëns –Requiem\nGounod – St Cecilia Mass\nVierne – Messe Solennelle (Kyrie & Gloria)\nFauré –Cantique de Jean Racine\nFranck – Panis Angelicus\nConductor: Duncan Saunderson\nSoloists: Elspeth Piggott (soprano)\, Alexander Pullinger (counter-tenor)\, Tom Kelly (tenor)\, Daniel Tate (bass)\nOrgan and piano: Julian Littlewood\nSaturday 21 May 2022\, 7:30 pm\,\nSt Andrew’s Church\, Linton Road\, Oxford OX2 6UG\nOur Music Director\, Duncan Saunderson\, writes: \nParis in the late 19th and early 20th century was a golden age of music. Many of the greatest French composers were outstanding organists: Fauré and Saint-Saëns worked at L’église de la Madeleine; Vierne was assistant to Charles-Marie Widor at Saint-Sulpice before becoming organist of Notre-Dame de Paris; and the honorary Frenchman\, César Franck (born in present day Belgium)\, was organist at the Basilica of Sainte Clotilde. \nCamille Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy who grew to be acclaimed in his lifetime as the incarnation of French genius. He was a virtuoso pianist\, and declared by Liszt to be the world’s greatest organist. Writing about the Requiem\, his biographer Jacques Bonnaure noted in his 2010 book: `This unjustly neglected Requiem is perhaps the most sensitive\, imaginative\, and perfect work by the composer\, who finds here\, more than ever before\, a classical balance between form and expression\, innovation and tradition\, sophisticated compositional style and immediate effect’. \nThe great Debussy wrote that Gounod represented the essential French sensibility of his time\, and Saint-Saëns regarded his St. Cecilia Mass as one of Gounod’s finest works\, writing this after the premiere in 1855:\n`The appearance of the Messe Sainte-Cécile caused a kind of shock. This simplicity\, this grandeur\, this serene light which rose before the musical world like a breaking dawn\, troubled people enormously. … at first one was dazzled\, then charmed\, then conquered.’ \nAlong with Fauré’s Cantique and Franck’s Panis Angelicus\, this Parisian programme of French music at its best\, with its luscious\, almost impressionistic harmonies\, beautiful soaring vocal lines and dazzling organ writing\, will be a joy to hear! \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/french-music/ CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/May-2022-SCS-poster-French-masses-v6-750px-website.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20220129T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20220129T193000 DTSTAMP:20220130T191300Z CREATED:20200413T025020Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220130T191300Z UID:15889-1643484600-1643484600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Handel Messiah DESCRIPTION:[cmsmasters_row][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″][cmsmasters_text]\nDownload the concert programme by clicking here\nMessiah\nHandel\nSaturday 29 January 2022 with Instruments of Time and Truth\nConductor: Duncan Saunderson\nElspeth Piggott (soprano)\, Mercè Bruguera Abelló (mezzo soprano)\, Tom Kelly (tenor)\, Daniel Tate (Bass) \nSince its first performance in Dublin in 1741\, Handel’s Messiah has remained incredibly popular\, with performances and recordings all over the world. \nIt has been 10 years since Summertown Choral Society performed it. The choruses are a fantastic vocal ‘workout’\, and there is nothing more exhilarating than singing these wonderfully varied choruses in between the beautiful arias with top professional soloists and instrumentalists. \nOur Musical Director\, Duncan\, knows the work inside out\, having sung it countless times\, as both an alto and a bass\, in the UK and on tour across Europe\, in recording with The Choir of New College\, Oxford and The Academy of Ancient Music\, in Paris with The Tallis Chamber Choir under Sir Jeffrey Tate\, in Barcelona with Instruments of Time and Truth under Edward Higginbottom\, across Spain with The Choir of the King’s Consort under Robert King\, with Norwich Cathedral Choir\, and many annual performances with The Choir of St. Bride’s\, Fleet Street\, under Robert Jones\, a long-standing member of The Tallis Scholars. \nDuncan writes: “Conducting Messiah with Summertown Choral Society and period instruments to a packed house in 2011 was a fabulous experience for me\, and\, after the last year and a half\, I can’t think of a better time to come together\, blow away the cobwebs and get our teeth into it. My only difficulty will be keeping my mouth shut during the singing!” \nTickets £15\, under 16s free (but need a ticket).\n\n[/cmsmasters_text][/cmsmasters_column][/cmsmasters_row] URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/handel-messiah-2022/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2022-Messiah-poster-353x500-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20200201T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20200201T193000 DTSTAMP:20230325T135835Z CREATED:20200414T071901Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230325T135835Z UID:15991-1580585400-1580585400@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach: B Minor Mass DESCRIPTION:For a preview of this concert and to see what our musical director\, Duncan Saunderson\, had to say about performing this piece\, click here for an article published by OxInTheBox.\nSaturday 1 February\, 7.30pm\, St Andrew’s Church\, Linton Road\, Oxford OX2 6UG\nTickets £12\nSoloists are Helen Ashby and Kate Ashby\, sopranos; Tom Kelly\, tenor; Tom Lowen\, bass; and the internationally renowned countertenor\, Robin Blaze.\nThe Mass in B minor is Bach’s only complete setting of the Mass and\, though we hear it now as one unified work standing in its own right\, Bach did not write it as such. Only towards the end of his life\, probably around 1748-9\, did he bring together earlier compositions into the one complete work. \n“I think the B minor Mass is one of the greatest pinnacles of human achievement. It still absolutely moves me to tears to hear it” ~ Douglas Adams\, author of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ \nWhen asked in 1974 what humanity should send to other civilisations in space\, the American biologist\, Lewis Thomas\, answered: “I would send the complete works of Bach… but that would be boasting” \n“From the downbeat of that first B minor chord and its anguished sequel….we have been launched on one of the most epic journeys in music” ending with “a universal plea for peace” ~ Sir John Eliot Gardiner\, conductor \n“It’s a BIG piece\, and even the best recording on CD can’t do it justice” ~ Stephen Fry\, man of words\, actor and author \nLink to Programme\nLink to Poster URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bach-b-minor-mass/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Jan-2020-Bach-B-minor-mass-poster-e1575829461451.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20190615T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20190615T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T224536Z CREATED:20200413T054351Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T224536Z UID:15920-1560627000-1560627000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Schubert Mass in e♭ DESCRIPTION:One Morning in Spring – Three Folksongs from Oxfordshire\nArrangement Grayston Ives (world premiere) \nIsis Chamber Orchestra \nLouise Wayman\, soprano\nStephen Burrows\, counter-tenor\nEdward Woodhouse\, tenor\nJack Granby\, tenor\nJulian Littlewood\, piano URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/schubert-mass-in-e%e2%99%ad/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20190209T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20190209T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T224618Z CREATED:20200413T055054Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T224618Z UID:15922-1549740600-1549740600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Monteverdi Vespers (1610) DESCRIPTION:“A wonderful sound from both orchestra and choir\, and the soloists’ voices blended beautifully.” \n“It was awe-inspiring to hear the Vespers sung by such a huge choir.” \n“The most spectacularly successful SCS event I’ve been to.” \nLink to Poster URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/monteverdi-vespers-1610/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Monteverdi-Vespers-Poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20180519T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20180519T193000 DTSTAMP:20201125T090713Z CREATED:20200413T060042Z LAST-MODIFIED:20201125T090713Z UID:15928-1526758200-1526758200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:In Praise of Song: A Parry Anniversary Concert DESCRIPTION:Parry: five part songs\nHome of my heart\nO love\, they wrong thee much\nCome pretty wag and sing\nIn praise of song\nSince thou\, O fondest \nWalter Parratt: Tears for the good and true \nParry: Put off\, O Jerusalem\, the garment of thy mourning (final chorus from /Judith \nVaughan Williams: Te Deum in G \nStanford: If ye then be risen with Christ \nPurcell: My beloved spake\, My Heart is Inditing\, and Chaconne in G minor for strings \nBorn into East India Company wealth and educated at Eton and Oxford\, Parry is commonly seen as an establishment figure. However\, he was a humanist liberal\, happier that his “Jerusalem” was used by the women’s suffrage movement than the patriotic “Right to Fight” movement of 1915. \nAll the part songs performed at this concert have an Oxford connection. One was written for a 1904 Oxford Festival and four were dedicated to Walter Parratt\, who succeeded Parry as Heather Professor of Music at Oxford University. Parratt was also organist of Magdalen College Chapel\, President of the Oxford University Chess Club and could play Bach’s forty-eight Preludes and Fugues from memory aged ten! Parry’s famous hymn “Repton” (“Dear Lord and Father”) started life as an alto solo in his wonderful oratorio Judith. \nVaughan Williams\, one of Parry’s distinguished pupils\, wrote his splendid Te Deum in G for the enthronement of Cosmo Lang as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1928. Purcell was appointed “Composer in Ordinary to the Violins” and his string music is sublime. These royal violins were modelled on the famous French court orchestra. Alongside the glorious “Chaconne”\, “My Beloved Spake”\, with its lovely references to Spring\, must be one of his most delightful pieces. The magnificent coronation anthem “My Heart is Inditing”\, with its eight soloists\, is so harmonically interesting there is even an early use of the “Jimi Hendrix chord” more associated with blues and rock! \nA few of Stanford’s forty-eight Preludes that were his homage to Bach completed this fascinating concert of English music. Stanford was an academic colleague of Parry’s and described him as the greatest English composer since Purcell. \nLink to poster and programme URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/in-praise-of-song-a-parry-anniversary-concert/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/scs-in-praise-of-song-poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20180203T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20180203T193000 DTSTAMP:20201117T162444Z CREATED:20200413T061457Z LAST-MODIFIED:20201117T162444Z UID:15936-1517686200-1517686200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Handel: Israel in Egypt DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson\, conductor \nInstruments of Time and Truth \nHelen Ashby\, soprano\nKate Ashby\, soprano\nAlexander Pullinger\, countertenor\nDaniel Norman\, tenor\nBrian McAlea\, bass\nDaniel Tate\, bass\n\n\n\n  \n\n“Handel understands effect better than any of us; when he chooses\, he strikes like a thunderbolt.” (W.A. Mozart) \nMozart’s words are no better demonstrated than in Handel’s magnificent oratorio Israel in Egypt. It soon stood alongside Messiah as one of England’s favourite choral treasures. Choruses and solos of frogs\, pestilence\, hailstones\, darkness\, insects\, fire and violent smiting contain some of his greatest writing. \nFor this concert\, SCS were joined once again by Oxford’s period instrument ensemble Instruments of Time and Truth\, and another distinguished line up of soloists including the international tenor Daniel Norman. Handel’s majestic ‘Zadok the Priest’ provided a fitting encore to conclude a magnificent evening! URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/handel-israel-in-egypt/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SCS-Feb-2018-Israel-in-Egypt.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20170610T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20170610T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230443Z CREATED:20200413T061836Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230443Z UID:15940-1497123000-1497123000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Puccini: Messa di Gloria DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson\, conductor \nLouise Wayman\, soprano\nBen Alden\, tenor\nDaniel Tate\, baritone\nJulian Littlewood\, piano\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\nFor our summer concert in 2017\, Summertown Choral Society was joined by some of the finest young soloists in the country for an evening of music by operatic composers – an opportunity for the audience to close their eyes and think of La Scala\, Milan\, the Staatskapelle\, Weimar\, the Salle Herz\, Paris\, Salzburg Cathedral\, or the valleys of Wales\, and ponder Mozart’s line from a letter of 1782: ‘Opera to me comes before anything else.’ \nPuccini’s Messa di Gloria\, composed as his graduation thesis when he was 18\, was a resounding success with audience and critics alike. It is unashamedly operatic in parts\, and Puccini even re-used some of its themes in his operas Manon Lescaut and Edgar. \nWagner’s ‘Bridal Chorus’ (Lohengrin) and Berlioz’s ‘L’Adieu des Bergers’ (L’Enfance du Christ)\, better known as a wedding organ voluntary and ‘The Shepherds’ Farewell’\, will be performed in their original languages\, along with Verdi’s ‘Va\, Pensiero’ (Nabucco). Dido’s Lament and the following chorus ‘With drooping wings’ come from Dido and Aeneas\, one of the earliest operas in English and Purcell’s only true opera. The three exquisite Mozart soprano solos with chorus come from Idomeneo\, Vesperae solennes de confessore (K339)\, and the Coronation Mass (K317)\, the Agnus Dei of which has been described as the prototype of the Countess’s aria ‘Dove Sono’ from Le nozze di Figaro. \nHaving left school at the age of 9 unable to read or write\, the extraordinary composer Joseph Parry eventually graduated from Cambridge with a doctorate and became the first Professor of Music at Aberystwyth University. He was also the first Welshman to write an opera. The programme for this concert included his ‘Y Cychod ar yr Afon’\, sung in Welsh. \nLink to Poster URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/puccini-messa-di-gloria/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/June-2017-SCS-poster-puccini.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20170204T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20170204T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230510Z CREATED:20200413T062345Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230510Z UID:15944-1486236600-1486236600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach and Buxtehude DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson\, conductor \nInstruments of Time and Truth \nLouise Wayman\, soprano\nAlexander Chance\, countertenor\nHugo Hymas\, tenor\nBrian McAlea\, bass\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\nAfter January 2016’s sell-out concert featuring the first half of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio\, Summertown Choral Society performed the second half of this lovely work\, originally written for the new year up to Epiphany in 1735\, in February 2017. Once again\, we were joined by baroque specialists Instruments of Time and Truth and by four of the UK’s finest young soloists\, including Louise Wayman (soprano) and Alexander Chance (countertenor). \n‘Lobet den Herrn’ (‘Praise the Lord\, all ye nations’) is one of Bach’s famous set of six motets and represents four-part choral writing at its best. Completing the programme was ‘Ad ubera portabimini’ from Buxtehude’s extraordinary collection of cantatas Membra Jesu nostri (‘The limbs of our Jesus’). Bach walked 260 miles from Arnstadt to Lobeck to meet the Danish-German Buxtehude and to hear him play; we were delighted that many journeyed from all around to enjoy our performance of these two composers’ wonderful music. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bach-and-buxtehude/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20160604T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20160604T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230540Z CREATED:20200413T062923Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230540Z UID:15946-1465068600-1465068600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Haydn: Spring and Summer DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson\, conductor \nLouise Wayman\, soprano\nBenjamin Durrant\, tenor\nBrian McAlea\, bass\nJulian Littlewood\, piano \nFull programme\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\nHaydn’s The Seasons\, first performed in 1810\, has a libretto based on a poem by the Scottish poet James Thomson. Composed at the age of seventy\, the wonderfully exuberant and humorous music is Haydn at his best. A ploughman whistling the famous theme from Haydn’s ‘Surprise’ Symphony\, a calling quail\, chirping crickets and croaking frogs are all part of a beautiful outdoor musical tapestry describing two of the loveliest seasons. \nThe Hungarian twentieth century musical giant Béla Bartók wrote his Four Slovak Songs between 1910 and 1917. Like Vaughan Williams\, he was passionate about collecting folk songs. After overhearing a Transylvanian nanny singing\, he collected folk music across Eastern Europe and even in Algeria. There are two uplifting dancing songs\, a hay making song and a curious wedding ‘lament’ about a girl sent to another country to marry a bad man. She comes back to her mother as a blackbird with a beautiful sad song. \nAntonín Dvořák was hailed in Britain and the USA. He was influenced by the folk music of Moravia and Bohemia. His Songs of Nature are rustic but highly sophisticated and describe evening bells ringing\, new life in the rye fields\, songs coming from us like the early morning dew\, and people in cities longing for nature. \n‘Praise the Lord in Heaven’ is by the late nineteenth century Russian composer Anton Arensky\, who was influenced by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. This short seven voice motet is strikingly beautiful. Arensky’s other claim to fame is having an Antarctic glacier named after him in 1987! URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/haydn-spring-and-summer/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SCS-Jun-2016.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20160130T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20160130T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230612Z CREATED:20200414T065154Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230612Z UID:15974-1454182200-1454182200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Baroque Splendour DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson\, conductor\nThe Instruments of Time and Truth\nLouise Wayman\, soprano\nAlexander Chance\, countertenor\nTom Kelly\, tenor\nBrian McAlea\, bass\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\nThe Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach (1685-1750) is a series of cantatas originally written to be performed in the two most important churches in Leipzig on six different days between Christmas 1734 and the feast of Epiphany in 1735. It incorporates some of the finest movements of several secular cantatas that Bach had already written as birthday or other celebrations. (This performance featured cantatas 1-3 only; cantatas 4-6 will be performed at our concert in January 2017). \n‘Nisi Dominus’\, a magnificent polyphonic setting for ten voices of Psalm 127\, is from Monteverdi’s grand masterpiece\, the Vespers of 1610. \n‘Plorate filii Israel’ is from Historia di Jephte\, Carissimi’s most widely known oratorio. The work dramatizes the Old Testament tale of Jephthah\, a warrior of Gilead who is forced to sacrifice his only daughter to God in recompense for his victory over the Ammonites. The scholar Athanasius Kircher wrote in 1650 of this chorus that it was composed ‘with such skill that you would swear you could hear their sobbings and lamentations’. \nLink to Poster URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/baroque-splendour/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2016-Jan-SCS-poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20150606T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20150606T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230650Z CREATED:20200414T065855Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230650Z UID:15980-1433619000-1433619000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Schubert\, Mozart\, Handel and Verdi DESCRIPTION:  \nJulian Littlewood\, piano \nDuncan Saunderson\, conductor \nLouise Wayman\, soprano \nAlex Pullinger\, countertenor \nBen Durrant\, tenor \nTom Edwards\, bass \nthe Summertown Players\, \nand Summertown Choral Society \n\nPerforming: \n\nMozart: Coronation Mass \nHandel: Israel in Egypt \n~ \nSchubert: Mass in G \nSchubert: Impromptu in G Major (Julian Littlewood) \nVerdi: Chorus of Scottish Refugees \nVerdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves \n  \n\n\nSummertown Choral Society’s Summer concert included two popular masses\, as well as Handel and Verdi choruses. The Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass in C Major\, KV 317)\, was so called because it was first performed either for Francis I of Austria or Leopold II in Prague\, is one of the most popular of Mozart’s 17 Mass settings\, composed in 1779. It is famous for the Agnus Dei\, one of Mozart’s most sublime sacred soprano solos. Schubert’s Mass in G was written in a week at the age of 18. His genius for melody\, through simplicity\, is evident and the Mass has become one of his most popular sacred works. \nHandel’s Israel in Egypt\, by contrast\, is a mature work. The choir sang the extraordinarily graphic plague sequence of frogs\, insects and darkness visited upon the Egyptians for their treatment of the Israelites in Egypt. Despite the subject\, the music is Handel at his most uplifting and majestic. Verdi’s Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco and Chorus of Scottish Refugees from Macbeth are two of his most beautiful and enduring short works. Both have the theme of the plight of an oppressed country and its people. \n“…that was one of the best concerts we have been to – including Oxford Phil with Ashkenazy on Friday! Many thanks…I particularly enjoyed the two Masses & Va Pensiero.” \n\n\n\nLink to Poster \n\n\n\nPhotos\nRehearsal: URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/schubert-mozart-handel-and-verdi/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2015-Poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20150207T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20150207T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T230726Z CREATED:20200419T183723Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T230726Z UID:16012-1423337400-1423337400@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Gioachino Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle DESCRIPTION:Winter Concert: Saturday 7th February 2015.\nGioachino Rossini \n\nPetite Messe Solennelle\n \n\nJulian Littlewood\, piano \nNicolas Haigh\, harmonium \nLouise Wayman\, soprano \nAlex Pullinger\, counter-tenor \nGuy Cutting\, tenor \nBrian McAlea\, bass \nDuncan Saunderson\, conductor \nand Summertown Choral Society \n\nO Salutaris Hostia \nSummertown Choral Society \nGiacomo Meyerbeer \nPater Noster \nSummertown Choral Society \nRossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle\, written around 1863\, is neither short nor solemn. It is so called because of its economy of scale\, with the orchestra banished\, and its formality of a sung Mass. However\, Rossini was the greatest writer of comic opera and his humour and gift for melody is present on every page. The German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer has been described as perhaps the most successful stage composer of the 19th century. A friend of Rossini’s\, he attended the first two performances of the Messe and was greatly affected. His beautiful but under performed Pater Noster was written in 1857\, the same year Rossini’s extremely charming motet O Salutaris Hostia was written. \nSummertown Choral Society was joined by piano\, harmonium and four soloists including the tenor Guy Cutting\, the first recipient of the highly prestigious Jeffrey Thomas American Bach Soloists Award. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/gioachino-rossini-petite-messe-solennelle/ LOCATION:St Michael and All Angels Church\, Lonsdale Road\, Oxford\, OX2 7ES\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Rossini-Mass-Poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20140208T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20140208T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T232009Z CREATED:20200419T174726Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T232009Z UID:16005-1391887800-1391887800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Haydn & Purcell DESCRIPTION:[cmsmasters_row][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″][cmsmasters_text] \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDuncan Saunderson conductor \nLouise Wayman and Laura Ashby\, sopranos\nStephen Burrows and Alexander Chance\, countertenors\nTom Kelly and Alex Clissold-Jones\, tenors\nPatrick Edmond\, bass \nwith the Summertown Players\, on period instruments. \nFull programme \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nExcerpts\n\n(From Haydn’s Nelson Mass) \nhttps://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DonaNobisPacem.mp3 \nhttps://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/etVitam.mp3 \nfrom the Credo in unum Deum \n\n\n\n\n\n\n[/cmsmasters_text][/cmsmasters_column][/cmsmasters_row] URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/haydn-purcell/ CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SCS-NelsonMassPoster72dpi.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20130615T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20130615T193000 DTSTAMP:20200419T235618Z CREATED:20200419T235500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200419T235618Z UID:16029-1371324600-1371324600@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Murder\, Morse & Mozart DESCRIPTION:Duncan Saunderson conductor \nSarah Dacey\, soprano\nDaniel Laking\, countertenor\nDavid Lee\, tenor\nTom Edwards\, bass\nJulian Littlewood\, piano & organ \nwith the Summertown Players \nFull programme \n“Absolutely fantastic! It was great to hear such a wide range of music sung by such a good choir. The requiem and Dyson in D were particularly excellent” \nFeaturing: \nMozart: Requiem\nBruce Montgomery: Spring the Sweet Spring\,\nFull Fathom Five\, My Joy\, My Life\, My Crown!\nD. L. Sayers: I’ve got a Little List\nHerbert Howells: St. Hugh’s Galliard\nGeorge Dyson: Revielle\nFranz Schubert: An die Musik\nGeoffrey Bush: ‘Prelude’ and ‘Sicilienne’ from Suite Champetre\nGeorge Dyson: Evening Service in D\nCharles Wood: Expectans Expectavi\nA. L. Peace: Hymn 699: O Love That Will Not Let Me Go \nExcerpts\nhttps://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/JoyLifeCrown.mp3 \nMy Joy\, My Life\, My Crown! \nFinal rehearsal at St. Barnabas Church. \n  \n…in the beautiful St. Barnabas Church. \n  \nHalfway through an excellent performance… \n  \n…in a really rather pretty Venetian-themed church… \n  \n..that was very well received by those who attended! \nWith thanks to Tom Newport & Lisa Mövius. URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/murder-morse-mozart/ LOCATION:St. Barnabas Church\, St Barnabas St\, Oxford\, OX2 6BG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MurderMorseMozart.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20130202T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20130202T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T031109Z CREATED:20200427T031109Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T031109Z UID:16032-1359833400-1359833400@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach's St. John Passion DESCRIPTION:Bach’s St. John Passion \nDuncan Saunderson conductor \nEmma Kirkby\, soprano\nChristopher Watson\, tenor\nStephen Burrows\, countertenor\nDavid Lee\, tenor\nTom Edwards\, bass\nGeorge Coltart\, bass \nwith the Summertown Players\non period instruments\, led by Simon Jones \nFull programme \n“A tour de force! Well\, what can I say? It was amazing\, wonderful\, especially the second part. I really had not expected anything like that and I wish I could sing!” \nIt was indeed a memorable evening! Read an account here. \nExcerpts\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Hail! Lord and MasterO Mighty LoveThy Will\, O God\, be always donePeter\, with his faithless liesChrist\, whose life was as the lightO mighty King\, how marvelous Thy glory!Our Lord\, in prison cell confinedThy name\, O Lord\, is shiningSee Him in his agonyMy Lord and Master\, let me ask TheeHelp us\, Christ\, God's only sonO Jesus\, when I come to die \n \n \n\n \n  \nPhotos\nPhotos courtesy of\, and copyright to Malcolm Chandler. \nThe final rehearsal… \n  \n…in the beautiful St. Barnabas Church. \n  \nHalfway through an excellent performance… \n  \n…very well received by the 450 people who attended! \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bachs-st-john-passion/ LOCATION:St. Barnabas Church\, St Barnabas St\, Oxford\, OX2 6BG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Feb_2013_poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120512T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120512T193000 DTSTAMP:20230325T141941Z CREATED:20200427T031854Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230325T141941Z UID:16034-1336851000-1336851000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:The Stanford Songs of the Sea DESCRIPTION:“A friend took me to your concert – and what a treat… The Stanford Songs of the Sea were a joy and really suited the choir… I almost expected Duncan Saunderson to turn round and ask us all to sing…  Everyone in the choir looked happy\, well-rehearsed. My friend and I went home relaxed. Thank you all again.” \nThus wrote an appreciative audience member after our concert on May 12th\, a concert celebrating English poetry set to music. The highlight was the song cycle Frostiana\, Randall Thompson’s setting of seven of Robert Frost’s poems\, performed in its entirety for the first time to a UK audience. Featuring soloists Giles Underwood\, Inigo Jones (Head chorister\, New College Choir\, Oxford)\, Stephen Taylor\, Ben Durrant and Julian Littlewood\, the programme also included music by Britten\, Vaughan Williams\, Stanford and Finzi. \n  \n\n\n\n\n\nClick for Full programme or Poster \nExcerpts from the Concert\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n My Spirit Sang All DayChoose Something Like a StarLet All the World \n \n \n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n  \n \n  \n \n  \n \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/the-stanford-songs-of-the-sea/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DSC6599.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120204T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120204T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T050918Z CREATED:20200427T032519Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T050918Z UID:16036-1328383800-1328383800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Bach's Mass in B Minor DESCRIPTION:Bach’s Mass in B Minor \nDuncan Saunderson conductor \nHelen Ashby\, soprano\nKate Ashby\, soprano\nStephen Burrows\, countertenor\nGuy Cutting\, tenor\nGeorge Coltart\, bass \nwith the Summertown Players\non period instruments\, led by Simon Jones \nFull programme… \n\n\n\n\nClick here for Oxford Times review \nExcerpts…\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n KyrieSanctusPleni sunt coeliDona nobis pacem URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/bachs-mass-in-b-minor/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Bachs-Mass-in-B-Minor.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110702T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110702T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T051101Z CREATED:20200427T033003Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T051101Z UID:16042-1309635000-1309635000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:50th Anniversary Concert DESCRIPTION:2 July 2011 ~ Sheldonian Theatre\n50th anniversary concert\nHandel: My Heart is Inditing\, Foundling Hospital Anthem\nMendelssohn: Ave Maria\nBrahms: movements from Ein Deutsches Requiem\nPhilip Moore: Three Oxford Songs (new commission) \nand part-songs by\nTippett\, Parry\, Brahms\, Copland and Grayston Ives \n~*~ \nDuncan Saunderson conductor \nCarys Lane soprano\, Helen Parker soprano\,\nStephen Burrows countertenor\,\nJames Gilchrist tenor\, George Coltart bass \nwith the Summertown Players led by Simon Jones \nand Julian Littlewood & Ben Holden piano \nFull Programme \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\nTo celebrate their half century\, Summertown Choral Society took their audience on a journey through England’s choral tradition on Saturday night – a journey that also reflected the incredibly varied repertoire they have tackled over the years… \n…this was an interesting wander down memory lane\, and a triumphant way to mark their anniversary. \nNicola Lisle\, Oxford Times – read the full review here \n\n\n\n\nPhotos…\nPhotos courtesy of John Seymour. \nA beautiful summer’s evening at the Sheldonian \n  \nAll assembled and ready for the off… \n  \n…a triumphant performance concluded! \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/50th-anniversary-concert/ CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/scs-50th-anniversary.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110205T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110205T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T033641Z CREATED:20200427T033526Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T033641Z UID:16044-1296934200-1296934200@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Handel's Messiah DESCRIPTION:Handel’s Messiah \nDuncan Saunderson conductor \nCarys Lane soprano\, Stephen Burrows countertenor\,\nBen Alden tenor\, George Coltart bass \nwith the Summertown Players\non period instruments\, led by Caroline Balding \nFull programme… \n\n\n\n\nExcerpts…\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Messiah - Glory To God (Handel)Messiah - Surely he hath borne our grieves (Handel)Messiah - All We Like Sheep (Handel) \n \n \n\n \nPhotos…\nPhotos courtesy of\, and copyright to Malcolm Chandler. \n  \nFinal rehearsal – Julian at the harpsichord \n  \nTenors and basses rehearsing (and err\, not watching the conductor fully!) \n  \nThe soloists get put through their paces \n  \nEnd of the concert – Duncan and the four soloists take their applause URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/handels-messiah/ LOCATION:St Andrew’s Church\, Oxford\, Linton Rd\, Oxford\, OX2 6UG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/handel-messiah-poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20100515T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20100515T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T034243Z CREATED:20200427T034243Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T034243Z UID:16046-1273951800-1273951800@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:Stanford\, Purcell\, Parry DESCRIPTION:15th May 2010 ~ St. Michael’s Church\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPurcell\nJehova\, quam multi sunt hostes mei\n\n\nFuneral Sentences for Queen Mary II\n\n\nThou knowest Lord\n\n\nVoluntary in G (Organ)\n\n\nStanford\nHeraclitus\n\n\nParry\nMy Delight and Thy Delight\n\n\nOde on St. Cecilia’s Day\n\n\n\nDuncan Saunderson (conductor) \nCarys Lane (soprano) Stephen Burrows (countertenor)\nGuy Cutting (tenor) Tom Edwards (bass)\nJulian Littlewood (piano & organ) \nFull programme here… \n\n\n\n\nExcerpts from the concert recording…\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Parry: My DelightPurcell: Thou knowest LordParry: By the streams that ever flow URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/stanford-purcell-parry/ LOCATION:St Michael and All Angels Church\, Lonsdale Road\, Oxford\, OX2 7ES\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/15-5-2010-poster.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20100123T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20100123T193000 DTSTAMP:20200427T034948Z CREATED:20200427T034948Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200427T034948Z UID:16048-1264275000-1264275000@www.summertownchoral.org.uk SUMMARY:23rd Jan 2010 ~ St. Barnabas Church DESCRIPTION:Monteverdi\n1610 Vespers – Deus in Adjutorium\, Ave Maris Stella\, Magnificat\n\n\nHandel\nNisi Dominus\n\n\nThe King shall rejoice\n\n\nDering\nFactum est Silentium\n\n\nHumfrey\nHear O Heavens\n\n\n\n\nDuncan Saunderson (conductor) \nSally Dunkley & Carys Lane (soprano)\nStephen Taylor (countertenor)\nGuy Cutting & Nick Hewlett (tenor)\nGeorge Coltart (bass)\nwith\nThe Summertown Players led by Janet Froomes \nFull Programme \n\nExcerpt from Monteverdi’s Vespers \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Monteverdi Gloria \n \n \n\n \n  \nPhotos…\nPhotos courtesy of\, and copyright to Malcolm Chandler. \n  \nFinal rehearsal at St. Barnabas Church. \n  \nChoir one to the right… \n  \n…and choir two to the left. \n  \nStaging helps to ‘raise’ the voices! \n  \nThe concert begins \n  \nChoir up close! \n  \nThe two tenors – Guy Cutting & Nick Hewlett \n  \nThe two sopranos – Sally Dunkley & Carys Lane together with bass – George Coltart \n  URL:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/concert/23rd-jan-2010-st-barnabas-church/ LOCATION:St. Barnabas Church\, St Barnabas St\, Oxford\, OX2 6BG\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:Archives ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.summertownchoral.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/23-1-2010-poster.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR